


Sanguinis et Vincula Magicae ~ The Bonds of Blood and Magic

by MarsPotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Humor, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Hogwarts, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 107,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25580215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarsPotter/pseuds/MarsPotter
Summary: 5 years since the war ended, Hermione has been living in Australia. Fate has other plans for the bookworm as she returns to England to explore her biological heritage and reconnect with old and new friends. But the questions remain, should she accept her biological mother's inheritance, who exactly is her father, and should she follow her heart into the arms of her best friend?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 114
Kudos: 230





	1. Chapter 1 - The Hidden Codex

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 8/24 - reposted with betaed chap!

Hey hi and hello to all my readers! I have been on hiatus for a long time from writing. I have been reading story after story all over the internet and still I could not get this idea out of my head. It took brief inspiration from an old story I wrote many years ago and has grown to be so much more! I wanted to have it mostly written before I posted so that I did not leave my wonderful readers with a WIP forever. Chaps 1 to 18 are written and I am diligently working on the last two to three! This week you get two chapters and will post once a week.

Huge shout out to my amazing alpha the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) / karasunova (AO3). She has helped me so much with everything in this story and through the twists and turns of my crazy muse! Thanks to my awesome beta, The Muse of Apollo, for helped to clean everything up and get that grammar going!

Also huge thanks to ChristinaPotter09 and MrsRen for your feedback on the beginning/middle drafts of this story and for teaching me so much about how to write better! Last shout out to the Harmony and Co facebook group… this and the writers group have been so helpful and such a great place to share in this fandom and Harmony ship together!

Presenting to you Sanguinis et Vincula Magicae - The Bonds of Blood and Magic.

Chapter 1

The sun-kissed brunette walked down the block, a breakfast burrito in hand as she took in the magnificent view. She stopped in front of her bookstore to enjoy her last bite and watched the boats go by on their way to Sydney Harbor. Hermione had owned the Hidden Codex bookstore for the last four years. It grew from a small magical bookshop to one of the most popular for both the Magical and Non-Magical community. It stood magnificently on Queenscliff Head in Freshwater Australia, a quick fifteen kilometers from Sydney.

Hermione breathed in the salty air, a smile forming on her face while the wind blew her hair around her. Her hair had tamed with age and all her beach time caused it to turn a golden brown. She ran her fingers through her hair and threw out her trash before walking into the store.

“Good morning, Janice.” Hermione waved to her assistant manager as she walked behind the counter and put her purse into the cubby hole. Her phoenix tattoo that went down her arm winked at her and blew her a kiss, the deathly hallows symbol floated through the flames. She shook her head and tried to focus on her day ahead -- Saturdays were always busy.

A few hours passed as Hermione assisted customers. Hermione’s mind was spacing out all day, she couldn't keep her focus. It was mid-afternoon and the doorbell rang as a familiar customer came in.

“Hey, Hermione, “ Lisa exclaimed as she walked into the store. She was a force to be reckoned with and very particular.

Janice grinned at Hermione and ducked around the corner. “I’ll go stock the shelves.” 

Hermione laughed and walked out from behind the counter to greet Lisa. “Good afternoon, Lisa. How can I help you?”

Lisa might be particular, but she was loyal and always purchased at the Hidden Codex. Hermione had dealt with more demanding clients than Lisa, who just wanted what she wanted as soon as she asked for it.

“Well, I am looking for the Margaret Fulton Cookbook. Do you think you have it?” 

Hermione’s eidetic memory went to work and she nodded. “Yes we do. I can grab the book for you.”

“Your brain is amazing, Hermione. If I didn't know better, I would say you use magic.” Lisa laughed as she looked at all the trinkets by the cash register.

Hermione laughed along and moved into the stacks of books. Oh, if only she knew. 

Hermione took a shortcut through the shelves of books lining the magical history section on her way to the cooking section. Her eyes glanced over the one copy of Hogwarts a History: Voldemort Battles Anthology. Her mind went to the invitation to the fifth-anniversary celebration which remained unopened on her desk. Every year of the anniversary had been a different experience for Hermione. 

The first anniversary was raw and was spent reliving intense flashbacks from the day. Thankfully her therapist was right by her side because of how traumatic that day had been for her. By the second anniversary, she was able to handle it on her own with no flashbacks. She held vigil by the fireplace for the day, crying and remembering all that had happened. She spent the third anniversary with her parents at the Sweet Shoppe, the emotions from the day no longer overwhelmed her, and she could function on a “normal” level. She and her parents ended the night with a bonfire on the beach, in memory of all those lost. She continued the same tradition in the fourth year, except she spent the day at the Hidden Codex. On today, the fifth anniversary, she had been torn on if she should go back to England. Time had won over. She had not read the letter yet, now she was spending the day in Australia.

Lisa broke Hermione out of her thoughts by saying across the store, “Oh, Hermione you will never guess. Little Sammy is going to be participating in a cooking competition in a few weeks. She is trying to create some new recipes and thinks this book may help her and we all know Margaret Fullerton is the Queen of Aussie cooking. Oh, I am just so excited.” 

“That sounds like such a great opportunity.” She found the book and walked back to the front. “You’ll have to tell Sammy to make me that carrot cake again, it was sinfully delicious. If Sammy wasn't in school I think my parents would snap her up to bake at the Shoppe.” 

Lisa beamed with pride.“That’s sweet of you to say. She may just take you up on that offer during the summer. She is showing off her cooking skills tonight at the dorms and of course, invited her mom.” Lisa handed Hermione her credit card. 

“Have a great day.” Hermione tucked the receipt into the cash drawer and walked to the back of the shop, exhausted.

“Janice, I’m going to go for a walk and clear my head.” Hermione said, poking her head into the back office. “I’ll grab some treats from the Shoppe. Hold the fort down.”

“Yes, boss.” Janice waved her off.

Hermione stepped outside of the book store and walked toward the beach. She put her sandals in her purse and felt instant relief as her feet were caressed by the sand and water as the waves rolled in. Hermione kicked up the water and splashed down the beach as she walked. The ocean had a calming effect. So much had changed in the last four years, her mind went back to the catalyst that had brought on that change.

~~~~Flashback to June 3, 1998~~~~~

Hermione felt even more disgusting than she ever thought she could feel in her life after cleaning out the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione stepped into the shower and stood under the steady stream of hot water washing away the day. Her mind wandered about everything that happened. She scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed her skin, hair, and every part of her body. 

The basilisk had been rotting for over six years. They were securing and fortifying the castle as they rebuilt it. The Chamber was high on everyone’s list as it would be used as an emergency shelter for all students and staff if anything happened to the castle. They would turn the once ominous chamber into a liveable area. 

Hermione, ten Potions Masters, and a group of thirty volunteers with strong constitutions went down the staircase to the Chamber in the morning and didn’t return until dusk. Hermione had taken the group down into the Chamber herself, using Pensieve memories from Harry and Ron. They left last week to start their Auror Training while Hermione stayed with the rebuilding squad until she and Sirius could find her parents in Australia. Her plan had been to go back to Hogwarts to finish her seventh year. 

Over the last month, Hermione had grown more restless and her plans for the next year were becoming murkier. Hermione had always had a plan, finish off Voldermort, go back to Hogwarts to finish her 7th year, and then on to the Ministry to help those disenfranchised. But this idea to spend the rest of her life fighting the Pureblood mentality was draining her. She wanted to do something different but what… she did not know.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom had been a casualty of the Battle, with only rubble and a gaping hole left to show for it. The ghost had not returned to the castle. They turned part of the bathroom into a classroom, while the part with the Chamber entrance was turned into an atrium with a staircase and a skylight.

They first gathered everything from the corpse that could be salvaged, led by the Potions Masters, which was thankfully a good majority of the squishy parts. Then the entire group manually cut the bones, skin, and other parts apart and stacked them to be carried out. Magic could not be used as it could ruin some of the basilisk’s magical properties. It was backbreaking work, but they were all used to it by now.

The Battle of Hogwarts left scars on the castle and destroyed almost every usable space. Everyone contributed to help rebuild Hogwarts from students who fought in the war to professors to members of the public from around the country. It seemed the Wizarding community used the rebuilding as a form of therapy, they used magic and muggle masonry and other tricks to rebuild the beloved castle. There were many tears mingled with hope for the future as brick by brick went up.

Hermione got out of the shower after an hour of scrubbing the smells away and she finally felt clean. Hermione wrapped a towel around her hair and body before walking out of the bathroom.

She turned toward her bedroom and ran right into Sirius Black. “You sure smell less like death, Grangey.” 

She lost her footing and Sirius righted her again with a smile. Hermione slapped Sirius with a laugh. “What’s up, Blacky?”

Hermione and Sirius had become fast friends. Life was hard and coming back from the Veil made Sirius appreciate life. Sirius brought humor and sarcasm into everything he did. Hermione was drawn to that, as she needed a friend that would just make her laugh. She was sometimes way too serious and he was sometimes way too loose. They balanced each other out and through that their friendship grew. They were both feeling the loss of Harry from their lives at the house since he went away to Auror training. 

“So, I have news,” He pushed her towards her room and closed the door once she was in the room, “First get dressed, little sis, and join me in the study.”

Hermione dressed as quickly as she could. Sirius was acting unusually serious, which he never liked doing because life is not a double entendre. She threw on her favorite pair of sweats and a t-shirt and ran to the study on the first floor.

“So, Sirius, why so serious?” Hermione smirked.

Hermione watched him drag his fingers through his hair, “We did it, Hermione. We found your parents.” Hermione stood there dumbstruck. “Your last suggestion of using a magical detective agency that had a muggle counterpart worked. So now we can go get them and try to get their memories back.”

Tears sprung to Hermione’s eyes and Sirius led her to the couch and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she openly sobbed. After a few minutes, Hermione started to calm down. “Sirius, did you reach out to the mind healer too?” She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Yes, he is on his way to Australia to check them out before we arrive. This is good news, right?” Sirius was concerned by the sad look on her face.

“I am happy Sirius, we can leave soon and find my parents. I am so grateful. But you know what I realized today,” he shook his head, “I don’t want to go back to Hogwarts…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Chapter 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey readers, so this is the shortest chap, chap 2 will come in a few days! Hope you enjoyed! I know there are more questions right now than answers and that is the fun of all of this! Please leave a review if you enjoyed this first chapter!


	2. Chapter 2 - Remembrance Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updated 8/24 w/ beta notes :)

Happy Thursday! Will switch back and forth for a bit between them :)! I hope you enjoy it!

I can't thank my wonderful alpha enough… Nova5621 (FFNet) / karasunova (AO3)... she is pretty freakin fantastic!! Thanks to The Muse of Apollo for betaing the crazy grammatical mind of my muse!

Chapter 2

Harry ran his fingers through his unruly hair and zipped his jumper. The door leading into the castle slammed shut behind him, the latch sounding with a clang. Leaves crunched under his feet as he broke into a sprint, wind meeting his face, as he approached the Forbidden Forest. Memories cropped up in his mind, too many all at once.

He shook his head and focused on running faster.

Harry skidded to a stop as he came to the war memorial. His name scanned over so many names he knew and missed. Every person who fought in the war was memorialized, the living, the fallen, the light and dark sides. The war memorial was created three years ago. It started as a school project that turned into the Potter Trust’s first public service project.

At one time the memorial had brought tears to Harry’s eyes, but time did heal some wounds. 

Harry sighed when he saw Hermione’s name in the middle of the dias. Hermione…she had been on his mind a lot lately. He had an unfinished letter to her sitting in his room. He knew what he wanted to say but the words were not coming out.

Hermione spent a weekend with her closest friends before she left for Australia. She told them that she and Sirius had found her family and she was going to be there when their memories were returned to them.

When Harry found out about the trip he immediately volunteered to go with her, not wanting her to face this alone. Hermione reminded Harry, in true Hermione fashion, that he needed to finish his training instead of leaving for an undetermined amount of time. Sirius reassured him that he was planning to go with Hermione so she had a friend by her side. Harry knew that Hermione was right and she would be back in England in a month to start her seventh year at Hogwarts anyway.

Then September came, and she still hadn’t returned. Hermione wrote back to everyone and told them that she was going to stay in Australia for a while to recover from the war and was planning to take her NEWTs later that year. Harry and Sirius had several talks after Harry received the news, and they were still just as fresh years later.

~~~~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry apparated in Grimmauld Place after his last lecture of the day was over. Sirius had returned from Australia two days before and Harry finally had a free night to visit with him. “Hey, Sirius.”

Sirius was standing behind the kitchen island with a bottle opener opening two bottles of butterbeer, and there was a pizza box open on the counter.

“Hey, pup,” Sirius moved around the counter and pulled Harry into a hug. Harry could tell that there was more to this hug than just being happy to see him. “I need to talk to you about some serious stuff. I got your favorite pizza from Basilico.”

Harry and Sirius sat at the bar stools at the kitchen island. Harry always marveled at how homey Grimmauld Place now felt. Sirius had worked with a contractor before he left and while he was in Australia to redesign Grimmauld place. Sirius wanted a proper home and liked being in London, but hated the memories in this house. He had his contractors strip the house back to its foundation and radically changed the layout of the house. They combined the ground and first floors together into a family room and kitchen combination with vaulted ceilings. Grimmauld was no longer dark and dank. He was going to work on the upper floors himself now that he was back in town.

“So…” Harry ate a bite of his pizza, toppings falling all over the plate. It had been months since he had pizza and he was savoring every bite.

“I am sure you got Hermione’s letter about staying in Australia for a while?” Harry nodded, “There is more to it than that but she didn’t want to say that in the letter. Harry, she shared with me a lot of shit that you three went through during the war and when you destroyed the Horcruxes.” Harry’s stomach dropped as Sirius continued, “Damn it why didn't you two tell me you were having nightmares?”

“I didn’t want to worry you and…” Harry started and Sirius held up his hand.

“Harry.” Sirius ran his hand through his hair nervously. “That was not meant to make you feel guilty. You are still learning to trust people.” 

Harry let out the breath he had been holding in.

Sirius continued, “Harry, she had a panic attack in the middle of her parents’ shop. Australia has really bad monsoons during the rainy season. Apparently the storms lightening and thunder took her back to her torture at Malfoy Manor.”

“I go back to that night a lot too.” Harry whispered.

Sirius let out a breath. “Harry, she is going to stay in Australia to heal herself. Her dad is a survivor of war, like yourselves and is going to help Hermione find someone to talk to.”

“Everything feels so overwhelming all of the time Sirius,” Harry sighed. “When I had Hermione to talk to it didn’t feel so oppressive… I could…” Harry stopped. How would he explain to Sirius that she was his lifeline and now that she was gone? 

“Hide from it all..,” Sirius added, “I’ve done the same thing Harry with my experiences in the war and that hell that I went through in the Veil. You and I both need to get some help, I don’t want you to stay silent forever.”

~~~~~~~~ end ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry and Sirius grew even closer after that weekend. They were both burying their feelings and not dealing with the trauma they had been through. Harry confided in Sirius that he wanted to stop his Auror training. He was rapidly losing his grip on his own mental health as he trained to fight criminals for the rest of his life. Harry spent his childhood fighting and was tired.

One month after Sirius returned, Harry left training and took the rest of the year off to take his NEWTS and heal himself. Harry joined a war survivors help group. Knowing that he needed more, Sirius found a professional to help Harry deal with his past. He was very hesitant at first and it had been hard to share, but things that are hard are usually worth it and it had been. Dr Alexa had become confident in Harry’s life and four years later he continued to see her.

Harry got to be just Harry for a while lazing around the house after he took his NEWTS. He watched movies and ran for fun. He was not the savior of the Wizarding World, just Harry. But Harry knew that he wanted some purpose for his life and to do something. When Ginny’s class from Hogwarts graduated, Harry joined a few of them in attending the University of Cambridge.

~~~~~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You want to go back to school, Harry? Why the bloody hell would you want to do that?” Ron shook his head and took a bite of his sandwich, staring at Harry’s acceptance letter.

Most of the family went outside for lunch while the three youngest sat around the kitchen table discussing their plans for the next year. Ginny smacked Ron in the back of the head. “Don't be daft, Ron. You’re technically in school to become an Auror, but you just call it training and not school. Why shouldn’t Harry attend university?”

Harry handed each of them a cookie from the plate in the middle of the table. Weasley tempers were quick to explode. “Stop talking and listen.“ 

Ron nodded and grabbed the chocolate cookie. Ginny shot Harry a smile as he continued, “Mate, I don't know what I want to do with my life, I always talked about being an Auror. But I know now that that is not my path. I think I’d like to take a more active role in my finances and the Potter estate. Sirius and I have done some digging into the history of the Potter and Black families. Potter Manor is a treasure trove of information, but I am feeling out of my depth. I learned that my mum invested a lot of time in charitable endeavors and I know I want to continue that too. So I am at a loss at how to do any of this. So I figure I will pull a Hermione and figure out a way to get more knowledge. So I’m going to go to school.” Harry grabbed a sugar cookie and took a bite.

“That all sounds very logical and she would be proud of you, mate.” Ron smiled at the mention of Hermione. “I’m glad you found something to do, Harry.” He clapped Harry on the back.

~~~~~~~~~~ end ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had been accepted into the new Magical Studies program at the University of Cambridge. England was trying to imitate programs that had been successful in other countries and Harry and Ginny would be a part of the inaugural class. They started university that fall and studied different topics to learn about the world outside of magic. They would then add in magical apprenticeships where appropriate. This program had been successful in bringing change to the wizarding society.

Harry spent three years studying land economy. It was the most applicable major he could study since it brought a lot of areas together that he needed to learn about -- like resource management, finance, and law. Harry spent many weekends and vacations reconnecting with his family’s past by exploring Potter Manor. From the books and portraits and Potter house elves’ memories, Harry learned more about his family origins and fortune. He started the Potter Trust during Cambridge. 

Harry was torn from his thoughts when he saw his bright blue-haired godson sneak out the castle. Harry intercepted his godson and scooped him up, much to Teddy’s delight. 

“Harry!” He squealed, his hair turning bright green to match Harry’s eyes.

“What are you doing, little man?” Harry swung him around once, twice, and set him down, his small feet brushing with the ground as he wobbled.

“I was going to go and find Mummy a Nargle to join her at breakfast before the picnic. She didn’t feel good last night and I think the nargle will help her.” Teddy had his hands on his hips as if he was daring Harry to stop him.

“Well let’s go find one. I’m sure Luna will help us if we can't find one on our own.” Harry smiled as he grabbed Teddy’s hand and they went off into the forest together. Harry sent a patronus to Tonks and Remus so they knew where their son was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the beginning, Harry actively worked to avoid the war celebrations. He used his first year of university as an excuse not to attend the events. But he quickly realized that his fame could be used to spur good in the community. His name, financial acumen, and determination pushed the Potter Trust’s initiatives forward. His fame could be used as a rallying point for the Wizarding World.

Today was the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and Harry had planned this year's events, a community picnic at Hogwarts and a nighttime gala. The day time festivities had been joyful and they remembered the fallen and celebrated life. They would end the day with a black tie gala to raise money for the Potter Trust’s new project.

Harry adjusted his bowtie in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get some semblance of style to his unruly hair. He reached for his trust pin and secured it to the pocket of his tuxedo. The Potter Trust’s symbol was a lily set atop two books symbolizing the heart and soul of the trust.

He made his way to the great hall, cocktail hour had started so people were milling around the hall. Ginny quickly walked up to Harry and grabbed his elbow leading him to a table at the front of the room “Are you ready Harry?”

“No, but I guess I’d better say something.” Ginny motioned to the band that was playing background music to wrap up “Thanks, Gin.” He walked up the steps of the raised stage.

“Good evening, everyone.” He took a deep breath. “Thank you for coming to the Remembrance Gala. Tonight, we are not here to focus on the past, but to remember how far we have come. It has been five years since we broke the cycle of hate and oppression that started with Grindelwald and continued through Voldemort. That day our society stood at a crossroads, do we continue with the hate or do we move ahead and change our future?”

Harry paused and smiled at the audience. “I know that we have started changing our narrative, we have seen the Wizarding World evolve over the last five years for the better. Together we will use this momentum to propel us forward and the Potter Trust has committed over the next decade to work with the Ministries of Magic throughout the world to address the inequalities in our societies. We want to take a deep dive into muggle and magical relations. Please join us by being open to the conversation about how we want our society to look in a decade and further into the future.” He looked around the room with a huge smile on his face. “A great wizard once said that happiness can be found even in the darkest of places, if one remembers to turn on the light. Let's be that light.” With that Harry tipped his head to the room and left the stage to find his seat.

This gave the emcee for the night, Ginny, the opportunity to go back to the podium. “Thank you, Harry. We all at the Daily Prophet stand with you and this wonderful organization. Please let a member of the staff in the black shirts know if you have any questions or would like some more information on the Light the World project.” Ginny stepped down from the podium and the band started playing again.

Harry sat back down at his table and let out a breath he had been holding, Ron placed a plate of food in front of Harry and sat down to eat. “Thanks, mate.”

Harry spent the rest of the night talking to members of the community and donors. Harry was in his element and it distracted him from the thoughts of sadness that this day usually brought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry finally found his way to the guest quarters after the gala. He took off his tuxedo and put on his pajamas and laid on the floor of the common room trying to quite literally ground himself. The night had been a hit and they would have a lot of work to do come Monday. But for now, Harry had a bottle of firewhiskey as he would see little of what remained of the night watching the fire. This night was something he was reluctant to see out since Hermione left. She had been the one constant in his life, he never thought he would have to face life without her. The last four years, Harry had grown a lot but nothing filled that void.

As the night went on, Harry’s friends joined him in the common room. Ron was the first to arrive after the gala was over and didn't say a word as he laid on the floor and drank the firewhiskey Harry offered him. This was the one time of the year that they allowed themselves to feel the pain and hurt.

Luna and Ginny found their way to the common room and joined them on the floor. Ginny put her hand on Harry’s in comfort.

“Thanks for joining me. Today has been intense, so I dipped into the firewhisky stash. A toast to our fallen comrades and to those who are not with us today.” A certain brown haired witch’s face passed through Harry’s thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~ end Chapter 2 ~~~~~~~~~

Thanks so much for reading and hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3 - Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey hi and hello readers! I figured that everyone would enjoy a new chapter to start off the week. Hope you all are well in this chaotic time!
> 
> Big ole thanks to my alpha Nova5621 (FFNet) / karasunova (AO3) and beta The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!
> 
> Thanks for all of the follows, reviews, and kudos! I love seeing that you are enjoying this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it! This is a biggie chap… Hermione and her parents. 
> 
> Updated 8/24 with beta notes

Chapter 3

Hermione felt the sun uncomfortably baking her skin and finally turned around to head to the Sweet Shoppe. She walked by the Freshwater Surf Life Club situated on a sandy beach in front of the Sweet Shoppe and waved towards the lifeguards. 

“G’day, Hermione,” Jared yelled from his perch atop the lifeguard stand.

“G’day. Getting some treats from the Shoppe, do you guys want any?” Hermione stopped a few feet from the stand. Her parents always made sure the lifeguards protecting the beach were taken care of and fed.

Jared shook his head, “We got our treats this morning! Your mother made the most amazing eclairs hope they left you some.”

“Have a good day.” She waved bye as she continued walking up the path.

She stared at the bright building that radiated all the colors of the rainbow. Walking into the shop always improved Hermione’s mood, something about how the sugar and aromas of the shop felt like a hug. Hermione waved at her mom, who was helping a customer across the shop and grabbed a box to fill with desserts from the holding shelves.

Hermione grabbed the last eclair from the display case. She made her way to a table to savor her treat. Her mind wandered off to her reunion with her parents. It was a huge moment in her life. Her family had been ripped apart and came even closer together. They supported Hermione and gave her the courage to stay in Australia to heal her wounds from the war. But there was a growing part of Hermione that missed those rainy days and trio escapades.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Flashback ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione faced the hospital with trepidation. They had arrived in Australia two days before. Hermione had wanted to go straight to the hospital on their first day, but Sirius told Hermione that they had to wait, the hospital needed to study what had happened to her parents and create a counterspell. They had brought her parents into the hospital under the guise of completing a physical for their insurance.

Sirius forced Hermione to go sightseeing to get her mind off the procedures that were being carried out on her parents at the time. They took a behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House. Later that night they saw the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform. The show featured Gil Shaham, playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Hermione got lost in the performance, the violin was melodic and carried her away. She started crying through the performance and was silent sobbing after it was done. Her emotions were right on her sleeve and Sirius waited until everyone was gone before apparating her out of the opera house. They spent the rest of the night at their hotel watching sappy movies and eating junk food.

The second day in Australia was the longest day of Hermione’s life. They spent the day at the Australia Zoo and Sirius tried hard to distract her. The next day was looming heavy on her mind. Usually, she would sulk and become agitated by people intentionally trying to distract her. But Sirius was another story. When he returned from the veil he was not the same playboy Black. He was way more down to earth and was owning his third chance at life. He showed her through his actions that he was genuinely happy to be there with her and just wanted to see her smile. He was trying to make the best of having to wait around.

Sirius, she had been a steadfast supporter since he fell out of the Veil. He remembered basic information about his life from before the Veil and battled with depression for a while. Hermione was his rock through the storm. And when she had her weak moments, he was there for her and took care of her as much as she helped take care of him.

Sirius put his hand on her shoulder as she stared at the hospital and it's shockingly white exterior, “Grangey girl, are you ready?”

She shook her head trying not to shake with nervousness, “Not really, but let’s go.” She grabbed his hand, needing his strength.

Sirius held her hand tight as they walked into the hospital and to the receptionist’s desk, “Good morning, we are here to see Healer Miller, this is Hermione Granger.”

“One moment, Sir,’ the receptionist dialed a number on her phone. She looked up at Hermione and Sirius, “Please sign in and have a seat, someone will take you to the Healer’s office.”

Sirius signed them into the visitor log and led Hermione to the chairs to take a seat. Moments later a tall man approached them and instructed them to follow him.

Hermione and Sirius entered the office of Healer Miller. He sat behind a desk piled with papers and stacks of books. He nodded for them to sit.

Hermione sat on the edge of her seat expectantly. “So let's get right down to business shall we?” The duo nodded and he continued, “Miss Granger, your parent’s situation is a very unique one. I am sure that you know most memory modifications are permanent and cannot be removed. I understand why you sent your parents away. When I first found them, I incorrectly assumed I would not be able to help. Thankfully Sirius asked me to take a deeper dive as a favor, so I analyzed their minds. So from what I have studied, your parents have had two oblivation spells, the one that you did in 1997 and then one in 1979. However, the oblivation from 1979 included, what I am now calling a memory stasis charm, on their minds that may have protected their memories.”

He pulled out a binder of notes, “See this charm, I have studied it in depth over the last week since we found them and have never seen anything like this. The complex structure of this ruine spell is a mastery level work. I am very impressed and I believe that this structure protects your parents from all memory modifications. My team and I have created a counter spell that should work. And as we have discussed this is a decision that you will need to make this morning. Please remember that I cannot make any guarantees whether it will work or not. The other option is to leave the modification on. I will leave you two alone to discuss,” he pushed his papers towards Hermione, “Please take your time to look over my notes and counterspell.”

Hermione nodded as he left his office, she looked at the papers, “I can’t have come this far and not have him perform the counter spell. But what if it does not work? What if their minds can’t reconcile all these differences? What if it drives them insane?”

Sirius pulled her chair close to him and wrapped his arm around her, "Well we don't know Hermione, memory is a fickle thing.” he paused, “It could all end badly, but really we won't know until it happens. If it goes wrong then we will deal with it.”

~~~~~~~~~

Healer Miller left them in the brightly colored waiting room. There were cheery posters lining the walls with inspirational quotes. Hermione looked at the floor, not wanting to see the positivity, her thoughts lingered on what the Healer told them. 

He reminded her that this was an experimental procedure and it may not work. She needed to also understand that if her parents woke up, they would not only have the memories from October 1979 but also the memories between Britain and the life she gave them in Australia. 

This was a lot for them to process and they would need time. She was not allowed in the room while he performed the spell. It would be too much strain on her parents. Healer Miller reassured her he would do everything he could and would provide her with an update as soon as possible. 

Hermione leaned on Sirius' shoulder for support. She hated waiting and not knowing what was happening. Sirius put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back. It felt like an eternity sitting in silence and there they sat for the rest of the morning.

Sirius let out a huge yawn, “Grangey, I am going to get us some lunch, we need to eat.” she nodded, “What do you want?”

“I don't care, nothing huge, maybe a sandwich.” Hermione moved her head off his shoulder, “And a coffee please, something fancy.”

Sirius apparated away promising to be back in five minutes.

Hermione was now the only person in the room and her mind was her worst enemy. She was trying to figure out why someone would modify her parent’s memories the month after she was born. She started with what was happening in the fall of 1979? It might have had to do with the war, of course, but Hermione wasn't sure.

Her first thought was had she done something magical as a newborn and her parents were promptly obliviated? But obliviators just got rid of the memories.

She sighed as her mind wouldn't stop going over the questions. What did her parents do to have this done to them, Magical Britain was a very scary place during that time. Maybe they ran into the wrong person or saw the wrong thing. But Deatheaters didn't modify memories they just killed. Or maybe someone was trying to protect them and their small family, but why? 

She tried to come up with other reasons but kept coming back to what if it all came down to her. She did not want to go down that rabbit hole but it was the only one that made sense. Maybe it wasn't a coincidence that a magical child came from two ordinary muggle dentists

She hadn’t shared this concern with Sirius yet, not wanting to say the words out loud.

Sirius popped back in with bags of food and a tray of drinks, he shrugged at Hermione, “I didn’t know what to get so I got everything. I’ll take it to the nurses and doctors when we are done.” He flopped down on the chair with a frozen sugary coffee drink monstrosity in his hand.

“Thanks, Brother.” She started using this term of endearment with him, much to his delight, over the last two days, as he had proven himself to be closer than a friend. She took off the lid of the cappuccino and took in the scent of coffee, hazelnut, and sugar.

She grabbed an Italian sandwich from the bag and started eating. She had to force herself to eat every meal. Logically she knew she needed the food with the malnutrition she faced during the war. But all those months in the tent and lack of food affected her. Her mind would always go back to survival mode.

Now, however, if she didn't eat, Sirius would pester her until she did. He duly appointed himself that job when he noticed she wouldn’t eat meals.

“I hate this, Sirius,” she sighed.

“There’s pastrami in there too, I got the most caloric dense sammys because we know you need it.” Sirius started to reach in the bag. She grabbed his hand and stopped him.

“It’s not the food. It is this whole thing and this damn morning.” She took another bite trying to distract herself.

Sirius let out a laugh, “Well I don't know about you but this was the most riveting morning I have ever had.”

She let out a strained laugh, “My mind is going a million miles a minute and I can't shut it off, Sirius. This silence and this damn cheery room are making me insane.” She finished her drink and threw the cup into the trash across the room then she set her sandwich down and faced him. "Why did someone else charm my parents the year I was born? Why would they mess with a couple of muggle dentists? Why would someone alter their memories?”

“When we perform magic," Sirius began, "it's either to create, change, protect or destroy something. Someone consciously picked out your parents, changed their memories and put a block on there so that their memories could be restored," he looked her in the eye, "and I think it was to protect you.”

"It was a dangerous time, Hermione. You have a good idea now," his voice strained, " how people were disappearing every day. Kidnappings, random killings, and many dying. Maybe, a couple of muggle dentists would be a perfect hiding spot." Sirius did not see a surprised look on her face but resignation.

Hermione reached for her sandwich trying to put her thoughts together, “A perfect hiding spot for me, please stop reading my mind Sirius.” She grinned at him trying to find a way to relieve the tension.

“Would this change anything” Sirius learned that Hermione needed to explain her thoughts out loud to work through an issue. Her brain could figure out logic problems with ease but emotions did not come so easily figured out.

“Sirius, you’ve shared with me your family’s background, but I haven't shared mine with you.” she shook her head, “My parents are the best people in my whole world. My childhood was fantastic with my parents, just lonely with kids my age. I act more like an adult and I really think a lot of only children are like this.” 

A genuine smile graced her face, “You see my dad seems like this super serious person when you first meet him. But he is really a softy especially when it comes to me. I put that same facade up in the world because that is what I saw him do.” She took a bite of her sandwich and Sirius handed her another drink.

"Everyone always said that I am so much like my dad, serious, logical, and we think about things way too much. But I am so much like my mom, she taught me to be caring, to believe and trust in people. I wanted to be like my mom with her elegance and grace around people but I feel awkward all the damn time and with my mom it’s effortless. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be the best of both of them.”

She took a sip of her drink, “I have had a lot of time to think about them. They mean so much to me, Sirius. I miss them so much and I can't imagine living my life without them.” Her face dropped in sadness.

Sirius lifted her head up, “Hermione, you love your parents. I have no doubt that they love you too," Tears were falling down her cheeks, “We won't know if it is what we think until the healer tells us and we are going to think positive thoughts. Your parents are still your parents. They won't care if you were adopted because no matter what happens you are Hermione Jean Granger, the bravest and the smartest and the most elegant witch in the world. It won't matter because you are their daughter. The Potters basically adopted me into the family. I never felt what you described until James' mom hugged me. It was magical.” 

He wiped the tears from her cheeks and put her drink on the table. Sirius pulled her into his lap and wrapped her in a bear hug, “Cry it out, I am here for you.” She let out a sob because she didn't even know if her parents would even remember her. Sirius kept repeating over and over how much they loved her.

She ended up falling asleep against his chest. Sirius kept rocking back and forth trying to comfort his friend. Sirius’s heart wrenched for her. She had been through so much in her young life. She needed a win this time -- this spell needed to work. Sirius realized at that moment that he only ever felt this protective with his Hogwarts family and Harry. Sirius decided that she was his family, no matter what happened with her parents, she was his sister forever.

Healer Miller walked into the room an hour later, a smile on his face, Sirius put a silence charm over Hermione’s head to talk to the Healer before he woke her up, “Please tell me there is good news. If it isn’t she needs to sleep more.”

Healer Miller sat down and nodded, “It went better than I could have ever imagined.”

Sirius ended the spell and rubbed Hermione’s shoulder, “Hey Sis, you need to wake up, the Healer is here.”

Hermione woke up all at once and almost fell off his lap but stood up quickly, “Sorry, what’s happening?”

“Please have a seat, Miss Granger. This is good news. But I want to explain a few things to you first.”

Hermione sat back in her chair, while Sirius offered the healer a coffee and any of the food. He looked exhausted, the spell must have taken a lot out of him. Hermione tried to hold in her questions but felt like she was going to explode.

“Thank you, this has been a very long day. But it has been a good day Hermione. First, I will get to the point, the counterspell worked. The memories have been returning to them slowly. I had to repeat the counterspell throughout the day to help." He took a sip of his drink and smiled at them.

"I am quite surprised that they have been able to reconcile everything that has been done, the original spell was masterful. I am going to study this spell in detail as it is going to change the way that we work with memory modifications. We have figured out the reason why their memories were modified, but I would like them to discuss that with you. I have taken copious amounts of notes and have asked them to come back for follow up appointments.”

He stood up. “Please follow me.”

Hermione jumped up and Sirius grabbed her hand to slow her down, “Please tell the nurses and anyone else to enjoy all the treats.”

Healer Miller nodded and led them out of the room. Hermione was on cloud nine, she didn’t care why someone modified their memories. Her parents were back and as Sirius said they loved her and she hoped that nothing would change that.

~~~~~~~

Sirius and Healer Miller walked with Hermione towards her parents room, they stopped outside as she walked in the room. Her parents were sitting at the table in the room writing something in a notebook. She quietly observed them, seeing her mother reach over and hold her father’s hand.

Jean turned around as she entered the room. Her eyes met Hermione’s and she exclaimed, “Hermione!” She pushed the chair away and ran to her daughter. Edward was not far behind. 

“Oh, my Hermione.” Jean and Edward surrounded Hermione in their loving embrace.

“Hey, baby girl.” Edward had tears in his eyes, “I missed you, I love you so much.” He kissed the top of her head. 

“I am so sorry, mum. I am so sorry, daddy. I didn’t think you’d ever know who I was ever again. I missed you so much,” she got out through the sobs.

Edward interrupted her, “Let’s sit down baby girl, we have a lot to talk about.” Jean didn’t let Hermione go, she moved over to the bed and they sat down together. 

Edward stood at the side of the bed. Hermione leaned into him. Hermione was holding her breath trying to steel her nerves waiting for him to continue. 

Edward ran his hands through her unruly hair, “Hermione there’s a lot to this story and it's complicated. We will talk about that. But your mom and I wanted to start this with a statement. Hermione Jean Granger, you are our daughter and we love you. Second, you are never EVER going to do anything like this ever again. I am devastated that you had to make this choice to keep us safe,” tears fell from Hermione’s eyes and her face dropped in shame, anger, and guilt, “Sweet girl, please look at me.”

Hermione looked at him in the eyes, tears falling, “You are my daughter and you will always be my daughter. And you can bet that I am so angry at the situation you were forced into, you can bet that I am seething at what you have gone through in the last year. I wish you didn't have to step up and do this, but Hermione my love, I couldn’t be more proud of you. That mad man is dead and he has all the blame in my book.”

Hermione’s lip quivered and Jean added, “You know we are hurt that you didn’t ask us,” Hermione started to try to explain but he put his finger up to stop her, “But, love, we understand that we would have said no and we would have probably tried to force you to leave that world. Would they have won without you?”

She shook her head, “No, I don't think so…” her mind went back to that image of Hagrid carrying a dead Harry into the courtyard, “Even with me there, we still lost so much.”

Edward’s heart hurt for her, he knew that look, it was the same one he had when he came back from his service, “I think you know that no one ever really wins a war. There are degrees of loss on both sides. I am glad that you helped to lessen that loss for your side.”

“You needed to be there, love.” Jean broke the silence, “I am so glad that my memories are back because you are my magic, Hermione. And don't apologize to us, we will discuss this more in the future and we want to hear your story.” She gave Hermione a stern look, “The entire story missy and you will leave nothing out.” She tucked some of Hermione’s hair behind her ear, “But right now, I just want to be here with you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think we should talk through the memories that we have unearthed.” Edward got up from the table and grabbed the journal he had been writing in.

“I think we should get the Healer too.” Jean added.

“And Sirius please.” Hermione added, “Sirius is a dear friend of mine that came with me. Really he is why I was able to find you.”

Edward poked his head out the door and asked the nurse to get the Healer and Sirius. Edward sat down on the bed and the two men entered the room.

Sirius walked up to Edward and Jean and held his hand out, “it is my absolute pleasure to meet you Jean and Edward.” 

Edward shook his hand with gusto, “Thank you for your help in finding us Sirius. I am sure we will get a chance to properly thank you later.”

Sirius moved over to the table and sat down next to the Healer adding “No thanks are necessary, Hermione is like a sister to me. I am just glad that this all worked out for the better.”

Edward started, “Hermione we came up with a timeline of events between both memory wiping spells. We remember what happened before October 1979 but really the story starts about two years before that.” 

Hermione leaned into her dad’s embrace as he continued, “Your mother and I were dealing with infertility issues -- for about five years. We desperately wanted a family.” Hermione remembered her parents telling her this as she got older that she was their little miracle baby, “So your mother came up with the genius idea to start fostering children in 1977.”

Jean added, “These kids needed a chance at a family and we loved every moment of it. For those two years, we had a set of twins, a brother, and sister, an older boy. All of these children were returned to their parents, which was good. But there was one who didn’t. You see in September 1979 we were approached by our social worker about a situation with a newborn baby girl. They were looking for a family to adopt her straight away. They had to make sure we were ready for this bundle of joy. They said that the mother was unmarried and feared for the safety of her child. She left the child with them at the office and never came back.”

Jean smiled at Hermione, “And as I am sure you have already deduced that little girl was you, Hermione Jean. After a sleepless night of caring for our daughter, we received a guest at the door. It was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She introduced herself as your mother. She only gave us her first name, Allison. Your father was skeptical but she knew that heart birthmark under your right arm.”

Edward took over, “She told us that she was involved in a dangerous war and that she and your biological father were in danger from fascists. She said she wanted to come back for you but didn’t know if she would survive. She then took out a stick, which we now know is a wand, and performed the spell.”

Healer Miller spoke up at that moment, “I think she did this so if she didn't come back to get you at the end of the war, you and your parents wouldn't know any different. Now this timeline fits with the first Voldermort war, so we are assuming that she was protecting you from the war. We only have her first name but assume since she never came back that she died in the war."

Hermione nodded. Sirius spoke up, “I know there were a lot of families that were worried about their magical lines being extinguished. This was usually half-blood or muggle-borns.”

Hermione sighed, “I had a feeling that this was the reason. Logically it was the only thing to make sense…” 

“But, baby girl, none of that matters. Your biological mother died but she took care of you and made sure you had a loving family.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few more hours before they were allowed to leave the hospital. Edward and Jean had follow-up interviews and appointments with the healers. But for now, they were allowed to return home. They were warned not to go back to work until they received clearance. Jean and Edward reassured everyone that they would take at least the next two weeks off and it would not impact the business.

Hermione and Sirius side-apparated her parents to their hotel suite in Sydney.

“Wow, Hermione, with that view and this hotel and the penthouse, Sirius here must have paid a lot of money,” Jean said as she looked out the window of the Park Hyatt hotel to the sweeping views from the Sydney Opera House to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Edward and Jean sat down and faced the windows enjoying the marvelous view. Hermione was trying to clean things up, Sirius swatted her hand away from the clutter and whispered something in her ear. She nodded and went to the couch and sat down.

Edward looked at Sirius with a curious expression, “Weren’t you dead Sirius?”

Hermione laughed, “Where do we start?”

“With a beer." Sirius handed out drinks to everyone and sat down on the chair.

Hermione smiled and took a sip of her drink. “Put it simply, he came back from the Veil of Death. After we defeated Voldemort, Harry told us that he had one more mission. He had to destroy the Deathly Hallows as they were a danger to the entire world. No one could be trusted with them. I’ll explain what the Hollows are later, but needless to say, they were dangerous.”

She took a sip of her drink and continued, “So a week after the war we went into the Department of Mysteries to the Death Veil. Harry had an elegant solution to rid the world of the items, they could not be destroyed by any means so why not give them back to death. Harry, Ron, and I went to the Chamber of Death, we were there to back him up just in case anything happened. He tossed the hallows through the veil and just like that they were gone.”

Sirius spoke up, “And I came back to life as Death's way of saying thank you for the return of the stolen Hallows after so many years. So basically I am a zombie.” with that everyone laughed and the mood in the room was much brighter.

“I am sure we will get to know more about what happened to you over the last year Hermione. But right now, I need to tell you about your dad and my second baby.” Jean looked at her with a serious expression.

Edward burst out laughing, “Your mother is so dramatic, we opened a store about thirty minutes out of Sydney and you're never going to guess what we sell.”

“Well given your previous profession, so maybe you started a pharmacy?” Hermione guessed. Edward shook his head. 

Sirius added, “Come on Hermione, your parents have to be way cooler than that. I bet they opened a discotek and hold massive parties on the weekends.” Jean laughed and shook her head.

Edward, “Here is your hint, what's the big thing we limited your consumption of as a kid?”

Hermione turned to her mother with a scandalized expression on her face, “Did you two open a sweets shop?” when her mother nodded her mouth dropped, “What on earth?”

Jean grinned at her expression, “You see I always wanted to be a baker when I was a little girl. But my parents told me that I needed to find a more productive thing to do with my life. So I joined the military and became a dentist, which is where I met your father. However, when you took away our memories of you, my brain filled in cracks with my love of baking. After you impelled us to move to Australia and my mind filled in the rest that we were going to live out our dream of opening a bake shop on the beach, hence the Sweet Shoppe.”

Her mother started telling them stories from the opening of the shop to her baking experiments. Hermione could see the passion in her mother's eyes as she told her about the ins and outs of the business. Hermione hoped one day that she could find something she wanted to do as passionately as her mother did. They spent the evening catching up on the last year of activity, avoiding the obvious elephant of the war. 

As the night went on Hermione had a startling realization that maybe extending her time in Australia would be the right move… for the time being.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed this chap!!!!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4 - Ice Cream and Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy it!!!!!
> 
> HUGE thanks to my alpha Nova5621 (FFNet) / karasunova (AO3) and beta The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!
> 
> 8/24/20 - updated with beta notes

Chapter 4

Diagon Alley was bustling and filled with so many people. Harry used these crowds to blend in making his way quickly to Flourish and Blotts and then on to Gringotts.

Harry walked up to Flourish and Blotts excited to see Mauve and Pops, the owners. Over the years, they had become the grandparents he never had, “Good morning, Mauve.”

Mauve came around the counter and hugged Harry, “I loved the picnic yesterday, Harry. It was such a wonderful way to remember and move forward. Wonder where you got such a fantastic idea from?” She asked with a wink

“Some crotchety old lady.” Harry moved quickly out of her reach and avoided the smack that was coming.

“You are a rascal Potter.” She waved her wand and two books flew off the shelves and into Harry’s hands, “I assume you got my owl. The red book is the one you requested, the new Magical Lineages papers and I found an interesting old book on the Malfoy and Potter family associations that I thought you would find interesting.”

Harry smiled, “Thanks for keeping my pet project on your mind Mauve!” Harry set five gallons on the counter, "So tell me all about the anniversary party next month."

Mauve smiled at Harry, “Oh I have decided to do The Winter’s Tale by the Bard! We have not had a Shakespeare party in a very long time. And this is my favorite book. Oh, Sonny, I have many many plans for this big party.”

Harry laughed, “Guess I am going to have to finally read that book.”

“You are so uncultured, son, I will have to fix that." A book came flying to her hand from the back of the store. "Here is Pop’s copy of A Winter's Tale, you take good care of it and get it read this week. I will need your help coming up with the treats and of course the signature drinks! But be careful not to get too distracted by the Queen of Sicily. Speaking of her, did you finish that letter?” Mauve stared him in the eyes, penetrating his soul.

“No all-knowing woman. I will finish it soon..." A customer interrupted their conversation and Harry grabbed his books and waved goodbye to Mauve. Harry turned away from the bookstore and decided to change his destination. The bank could wait and he went towards Fortescue's Ice Cream shop. 

Harry’s mind wandered back to the brunette witch that had plagued his dreams the night before. The unfinished letter was expanding in volume as he tried to get all of his words out.

Harry entered the ice cream shop and strolled right up to the counter. "Can I get a butterbeer sundae with caramel?”

“Make that two but walnuts please and on his tab.” Ginny popped up behind Harry.

“Morning Gin.” Harry nodded at the worker and paid for their ice cream. He grabbed Ginny’s hand and they walked towards the tables scattered around outside. Before he could sit down, his name was called. Harry grabbed their dessert and joined Ginny back at the table. He handed her a spoon and placed the sundaes on the table.

“So do tell, why we are getting ice cream for breakfast, my favorite brother?” 

He sighed, “I am just feeling meh, Ginny.” Harry ate a spoonful of his ice cream.

After the war, Harry and Ginny tried to meet everyone’s expectations and become a “happy” couple. But as they tried harder and harder, they grew further and further apart.

Ginny and Harry were very different people and their broken pieces did not fit together. After they broke up, the pressure of being together was gone. They were able to build a solid and stable friendship. Their time at Cambridge brought them even closer together and Harry finally felt safe confiding in Ginny. But today he didn't know how to get out the feelings going through his head.

“Harry you have done so much in the last month, I am not surprised you are feeling off. Last night was a lot.” Ginny took a bite and reached for his hand to give him comfort.

“Yea I guess. There are some loose ends and things I didn't finish before the anniversary that are weighing on my mind. I was going to go to the bank and be a responsible adult but ice cream sounded better. So please distract me Gin. How is our favorite Slytherin doing?”

Ginny bit her bottom lip smiling, she looked down at her engagement ring. Her rose gold ring started out as her promise ring from Draco on their first anniversary. Inlaid in the metal was a robin bird in flight. Robin was Draco’s nickname for Ginny and it described her perfectly. She was the light of his life and the fire to his dragon. He wore a similar ring with a dragon in flight. 

Now that they were engaged both of their rings had constellations inscribed on them. Ginny had the Draco constellation and Draco had Ursa Minor on his. They were a matching pair and Draco would always keep her safe. She loved that at their wedding they would inlay jewels in each of the stars of the constellation to finish the pairing.

“Earth to Ginny.” Harry smiled at his friend who was admiring her ring. 

She looked up at him with a grin, “The man is good. He has been busy at work. They finally finished the most recent war and have moved to the first war. He says these accounts of what happened to the people are even worse than the first." She sent the empty bowls and spoons to the service counter.

After Harry and Hermione’s testimony to the Wizagmont, Draco was released into the custody of his mother and was ordered to return to Hogwarts to avoid going to Azkaban. But shortly after the trial, his mother passed away and Draco faced going to Azkaban. Sirius saved his nephew from a fate he knew all too well.

Draco committed his life to undo the bad that the Deatheaters had done. After he completed his seventh year at Hogwarts, he joined Harry and Ginny at Cambridge and studied Law. Now he was on track to become the most prominent solicitor of his age. He started a pro-bono law firm to handle the claims and reparation payments from the Voldemort wars. He was like Robin Hood, taking money from the evil and giving it to those hurt.

Ginny continued, "He was acting all weird this morning when I went by the office to drop off his lunch that he left on the table.” she shook her head. “He covered his work when I walked in and was super hush about it. I bet it has something to do with the family or a friend.”

“Well, what he is doing is difficult work and a very thankless job,” Harry added knowing the difficulty and challenges he faced. Draco and Harry had become close friends after living in the same house together.

“Oh Harry, look at us two sitting here lost in our thoughts. My mom canceled the wedding planning for today, Fleur needed her to watch the kids so I am a free bird. Let's have a movie day?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco’s eyes were lit with fire and excitement as he read the letter over again. He had been working on the investigation of the murder of Allison, Alfred, and Annabelle Harwood for the better part of the week. This letter was the lead he needed to hopefully finish the Lestrange reparation file. It was an eighty-page file filled with name after name of those hurt by the vile woman.

His caseload, and every other solicitor in the firm, was filled with hundreds of files from the first Voldemort War. There were hundreds of millions of Galleons tied up in family vaults while various parties fought over control and the money. So He and his team worked tirelessly to find the people who were directly harmed by the accused and give them some semblance of justice. After they determined who was harmed, they would give them a percentage of the money in the vaults. Draco knew that money could not fix everything but it was better than nothing.

Draco proposed this solution to the Ministry in his third year at Cambridge. The ministry was grateful to let a third party handle the issues, under their supervision. Another portion of the money would go directly to the War Fund that the Potter Foundation supervised. The money was used to rebuild the magical community and invest in the future. Last, the family heir’s would get the remaining portion of the funds and family estates, if they were not sold to earn money for the other payments. If no family remained then the money would go into the War Fund.

At the beginning of the week, he thought his current case was simple. Draco had found a connection between the Harwood and the Longbottom families. Alice Harwood had married Frank Longbottom. The senior Harwoods and her twin sister had been murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange. He began the process of moving the reparation money for their deaths into the Longbottom account. But the Goblins would not accept his filing to transfer the money from the Lestrange Vault to the Longbottom’s. He asked about the Harwood vault as well and was promptly informed that it was none of his business. It was held in trust for the living heir.

The Goblins would not disclose any additional information. Last Friday, he had reached out to Neville concerning the Harwood family. Neville wrote back this morning inviting him to come to the manor to discuss.

He placed the letter into the file and stood up from his desk. He walked out of his office and stopped at his assistant’s desk, “Beth I am heading to Longbottom Manor on the Harwood case. Have a good rest of the day.”

Beth smiled, “Roger that boss.”

He stepped into the floo and threw down the powder, “Longbottom Manor.” Moments later, he appeared in the foyer of the manor.

A house elf met him and removed the dust from his clothes with the wave of his hand. “Mister Malfoy, welcome to Longbottom Manor. Master Longbottom is in the library and has asked me to take you there. Please follow me”

Draco nodded and followed the house elf out of the foyer. Draco was very fond of Longbottom Manor, it was filled with plants and light. This manor was just as large as Malfoy Manor but it was everything Malfoy Manor was not. Longbottom Manor felt like a hug surrounding him when he walked inside. He followed the elf up the stairs to the second floor and to the left. The elf opened the door to the massive library and popped out of the room. The library was painted in a light yellow color and had honey-brown shelves from floor to ceiling. Light flooded into the library through the wall of windows in the back. Neville was scaling the massive shelves on a ladder.

“Hey, Draco, I have set out some things on the table over there.” He pointed at a table covered with books, “I have been searching in the family archives. This has been the strangest thing.” He pulled a book from the self, “And I finally found this damn book.” He climbed down the stairs.

Draco walked over to the table and sat down. A very pregnant Hannah walked into the library with a notebook in her hand and a hand on her belly, “Nev, I looked in the records and there may be a second book of the family in the library but who the hell knows where in this mess.” She saw Draco at the table, “Well there is the man that has sent my husband into a tizzy.”

“I jest Draco.” Hannah said before Draco could say anything, “Neville and I are just as curious about this situation as you are.“ She lowered her voice so only he could hear, “He is really excited about the idea that a relative from his mother’s side of the family is alive.”

Draco smiled, “You know what, this has been the one of the few potentially happy things to come from these investigations. While the money is yes helpful, it does not bring back a loved one or heal the pain. The fact that Neville may have a relative that is alive is balm needed for my very weary soul.”

Hannah handed Draco a cookie from the plate on the table. Hannah was one of the first people to accept Ginny and Draco's relationship without skepticism. She told Draco that he was a product of his shitty upbringing and she didn’t blame him. He had proven himself over the years to be a solid and dependable friend. Because Hannah gave him a chance, the rest of their circle welcomed him in. 

Draco bit into Hannah’s famous brownie sundae cookie -- it was dark chocolate with all the sundae flavors of caramel, chocolate, & strawberry. He never knew how she put all the flavors into this magical cookie. Draco was one of Hannah’s favorite test subjects as he was always up to test new and unique creations. She was considering opening a bakery in Diagon Alley after the twins were born.

“Draco your job is tough. I hope we can find some family for my husband, but even if you don’t, it has been fun getting to know his mother’s side of the family.” Hannah pointed to the pink cookie on the plate, “Try that one when you are done with your fav. I’ll tell you all about it after you try it.” She grinned and grabbed a lace looking cookie.

Neville came over to the table and kissed Hannah on the cheek, “Beautiful wife of mine, I finally found the lineage book. We really need to find someone to organize this library. It is a mess.”

“Told you, Honey, we'll have to hire someone because obviously we are no good at it.” Hannah handed Neville a cookie, “Eat something. I'm glad you found the book you've been looking for all day."

“So I agree with what the Goblins told you that there has to be an alive heir to the Harwood family inheritance.” Neville said with a sigh."

“How do you know this?” Draco was curious.

“Well the bruise on my ass when I got promptly kicked out is proof enough for me. I tried to enter the house today and if there was no living Heir, I should have been able to enter by my birthright. As we know, Allison Harwood was my Mother’s twin sister, so I have been digging into what information I have on her. As you know she and my mother’s parents were killed by the Lestrange family five months before I was born”

Hannah added, “and we were not able to view the family tree since it is at the Harwood Manor. But Neville and I have been searching through the library and Nev’s mother’s trunks in the attic. He has been searching for the mirror copy of the family inheritance books all day.” 

Draco knew that Pureblood houses that were joined in marriage had family books that were shared among each of the libraries. Draco saw these in the Black and Malfoy libraries.

Neville held up the book he grabbed from the shelf, “So as long as Allison accepted her child into the family then their name should be in this book. So when I was born my mother and father added me to the book.” He flipped through the pages and past the Longbottom pages and to the Harwood family list which read:

\-------- Albert Green + Anabelle Harwood (H) --------  
\-------- Allison Harwood (H) -------- Alice Longbottom (nee Harwood-Green) + Frank Longbottom  
\-------- Hermione Harwood* (H) ----- Neville Longbottom + Hannah Abbot

*September 1979: heir under protective care with Granger Family

Neville and Draco both did a double-take at the name on that page. 

“Well isn’t that interesting.” Hannah said out loud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Chapter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know that more info about Alice’s history was disclosed by JKR and is on the wiki but I am going with my own take on her history!! Hope you enjoyed it!!!!


	5. Chapter 5 - Second Sweet Shoppe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy happy Friday to everyone! Hope you enjoy this chap! 
> 
> Thanks so much to my amazing alpha, the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) / karasunova (AO3). Gotta send a special shout out to The Muse of Apollo and his betaing insights… and all those commas and periods.
> 
> Updated 8/24/20 with betaed chap!

Chapter 5

Draco’s head was hurting with how complicated this situation was turning into. He left the manor after making a copy of the inheritance book. Draco advised Neville of the next steps in the reparation process given that they had to follow very strict protocols. Draco had to reach out to Hermione first and then Neville could reach out. Neville asked if Draco could give Hermione a letter after he reached out. He was excited and wanted to be kept up to date as the process moved forward. He left Hannah and Neville in a deep discussion.

He had spoken with Sirius a few times about Hermione and Australia over the years. Sirius raved at the warm weather and the Granger’s baking skills. He brought back treats every time and shared them with the family. Draco figured he might start with the last person to visit Hermione. He apparated to Grimmauld Place.

He yelled from the foyer, “Uncle, you have a moment?”

He walked into the kitchen and found Sirius making lunch in the expansive kitchen. “In here Draco, I am making fajitas for lunch. Do you want some?” As he turned around tossing the tortillas on the skillet, he saw the look of concern on Draco’s face, “Hey what’s up?”

“So I need to talk to you about Hermione.” Draco sat down at the island with a huff.

Sirius was confused, “Okay, you know I love to talk about my sister. But that look on your face says something different, what's going on?”

He explained the situation and his discoveries. As Sirius listened to the explanation he served up the already prepared steak, peppers & onions on the browned tortillas and set a plate in front of Draco. He motioned to the salsa and guacamole already on the counter.

“Please eat up.” Sirius sat down next to Draco.

“So this makes a lot of sense. I don't know if I told you about Hermione being adopted. But I will start at the beginning. She and I learned this when the Healer was able to return her parent’s memories. They told us a story about a woman who removed their memories a few days after they took Hermione home. Jean said that the girl’s name was Allison but no last name was ever given.” Sirius took a bite of his food.

“Their memories were altered and they did not remember that she was adopted until the memory blocker was removed.” Sirius continued. “So for the last few years, she and I have been trying to research all witches named Allison from that time period and there were over 50 Allison’s that I have been able to find. I never thought it would have been Hermione’s Allison. I don't remember her ever being pregnant but with the war, it was hard to keep track of everyone.”

They continued their discussion figuring out what to do with the information that they pieced together.

Draco wrote down a timeline of events:  
September 1979 - Hermione Harwood was born.  
October 1979 - Hermione was given up for adoption into the Muggle world in England. Name was changed to Hermione Jean Granger. Allison removed the memories of the adoption from Jean and Edward’s mind in order to protect her daughter.  
February 1980 - Allison Harwood and her parents were murdered by Bellatrix Lestrange  
July 1980 - Harry and Neville were born

“Well Draco, quite frankly we will have to talk to someone else from those days to learn more about Allison. I don't remember much about her, she was at Hogwarts with us but that is about it. I think, more importantly, we need to tell Hermione what we have found out. Also, Neville deserves to reach out to her as well. She will be ecstatic to find some people from her biological family.”

Sirius stood up quickly and made his way into his study. “I have a letter from Hermione from last week,” he said rifling through a file on his desk. 

“Found it," he held the letter up. "She has been writing about coming back for some time. I think this could be a push for her to come back.” Draco smiled at that, and Sirius had a scheming look in his eyes, “and maybe for good.”

“I agree with you. I assume you know where she lives right?”

Sirius nodded. “I am going to make travel arrangements for us and get ready to go. Can you leave tonight to head there?”

“Yes, first let me go by Gin’s work and tell her I am in fact going to be gone for a few days. I told her this morning I would probably have to leave for this next case. I will meet you back here in three hours?”

Draco flooed over to the office and spent the next hour gathering and organizing the Lestrange files and cleaning his office. He met with each of his solicitors and told them that the new case would take him out of the country.

He walked down the street to the Daily Prophet headquarters. Lacey the receptionist waved him into the building, knowing where he was heading. Draco climbed the three flights of stairs to the head offices.

Luna stepped out of her office and gave Draco a hug. “Good afternoon, Draco. Ginny and Harry are hanging out at your apartment. She said he needed some sibling time so they are watching movies.”

“Thanks, Luna. I will head home then.” Draco turned to walk back down the stairs.

Luna grabbed his arm before he could walk away, “Draco, please bring our bookworm home, we all miss her dearly and I know she misses us too. I have been hearing her spirit crying for us lately.” Luna let go of his arm and walked back into her office.

Draco stopped in his tracks. Luna was always a bit eerie sometimes and he could have sworn she was the best legillimens in the world. How she magically knew things that he never said he would never know. However, Draco had come to accept that Luna just knew things because everything she said came true in the end. He apparated from Ginny’s office to their flat.

He appeared in the foyer and music was blaring through the apartment. Draco walked into the kitchen and stopped and stared at his fiance and Potter dancing around the kitchen. They had the newly released Lilo and Stitch soundtrack playing and were screaming at the top of their lungs. Thankfully the music was drowning out their terrible singing.

“Draco come join us,“ Ginny smiled. Draco saw a bottle of wine that had been started by the two of them.

Draco turned down the music and walked into the kitchen and pointed to the wine bottle. “Starting early I see.”

Ginny danced around him with her wine glass in her hand. “Harry needed a movie day, my love and we just happened to have that bottle of wine from France that I wanted to share with him. So, perfect opportunity. This stuff is way more potent now that it has aged.” She finished her glass and danced back over to the oven to check on what was inside.

“Afternoon Draco. Apparently we are waiting on the monstrosity of a pizza to finish baking. It has so many ingredients that I lost track. But at least it smells delicious.”

Draco laughed. “Oh yes, Ginny’s Stitch-ed Together pizza-- tastes way better than it looks, mate.” 

“So Robin, I am going to leave today for that work trip. I need to get going and get this case settled” Draco said to Ginny, as he walked past Harry.

“I am going to go get the movie set up while the pizza bakes.” Harry said. “You two take your time, I’ll make myself scarce. I guess I will be staying here all week or she at GP or the Manor since she hates being alone while you’re gone.” 

There was a pang in Harry’s chest when he saw Draco take Ginny into his arms to talk to her. Harry wanted to find that kind of love that Ginny found in Draco. No one, however, was a match for Harry and his personality, fame, or money. Harry finally understood that he deserved to be loved like that but that love was scarce.

“Have fun with Harry, Robin. Please make sure you get some sleep, the last time you two stayed up forever, Luna said you were a mess at work. I don't know how long I’ll be gone could be a few days or a week. Please tell mum that I want to know everything you discuss at the seating arrangement meeting. I left my notes on the desk in the binder.”

“We won’t make any decisions without you, love.” Ginny rested her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “Where are you going this time?”

“Australia again.” Draco ran his hands through her hair feeling guilty because he couldn’t tell her any more about what he was going to do and even more guilty because of his sad friend in the other room.

“Oh Draco, can you bring me back some Lamington? You know it was my absolute favorite when we went down under and I want to have mum try it so we can try to recreate it for the wedding. The stuff in the store is not the same and I was going to order some online but this is better.” Ginny giggled as the timer went off on the pizza.

Draco magically pulled the pizza out of the oven so he could keep his Robin in his arms for a while longer. “Of course I will get some of our favorite treats and bring back a full cake of Lamington since we both love that stuff. I have to leave now, though, my beautiful bird.” He pulled her closer and kissed her hard. “I’ll miss you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione was sitting outside her parent’s house on the back porch swing with her mother. Hermione sighed, “Mum, I wrote back to Sirius last week about coming to visit.”

Over the last four years, Hermione only corresponded with Sirius while she worked with her therapist. Writing to Harry, Ron, and the others would bring up too many things that she needed to work through. Hermione had to find her voice and since Sirius wasn't there toward the end, writing to him helped her reflect.

“Mom, I think I am finally fine with England and my past. I know where it belongs and I don't feel broken anymore. Quite frankly, I’ve been missing everyone desperately.”

Hermione wanted her friends back. She had spent time recovering from the war and healing herself. But her social life in Australia was very lonely. She found it hard to relate to the magical community in Australia. She would interact with them as the local bookshop owner but either they wanted her to tell them fantastical tales from her days at Hogwarts or they tiptoed around the subject. She wanted friends that she didn't have to put walls up for.

Jean ran her hands through Hermione’s hair. “I think that is an excellent idea, Hermione. Your dad and I have been talking to Molly about opening a second branch of the Sweet Shoppe near the Burrow. We were wanting to go back for an extended visit and have been trying to figure out when to go -- this works perfectly.”

Hermione smiled at her mom. She knew something was in the works with the Weasley matriarch for the past few months. They had reconnected with Molly and Arthur shortly after their memories were returned to them. The parents had been close friends through Hermione’s years at Hogwarts. 

Edward had reached out to Arthur during Hermione’s first year at Hogwarts because he was lost in the magical world. He wanted to know more about the world for his daughter’s sake and he did not want to lose her. Molly and Jean bonded over their love of their children and quickly a friendship formed that lasted through the years. They would visit each other throughout the school years and celebrated many holidays together. Through their friendship, Hermione had been allowed a lot of freedom at the Weasleys and in the magical world.

Molly had been concerned about Jean and Edward’s lack of responses to their letters after Hermione went to the Burrow before Bill and Fleur’s wedding. She technically had not lied to Molly when she said they went into hiding. After the war, Molly wholeheartedly supported Hermione going to find her parents. She wanted Hermione to have her parents and she wanted her friend back. Molly and Jean shared a love of baking, which they had discovered over their years of friendship, despite their being from different worlds.

“Well, I guess we will have to start planning our trip back.” Jean smiled at her daughter.

“Ladies, this dinner show is about to start,” Edward yelled from the kitchen.

“Coming, Daddy.” Hermione and Jean stood up and headed into the house, Edward was standing in the middle of the kitchen and wearing a kiss the chef apron. He was standing behind his new teppanyaki griddle which had bowls of chopped meats and vegetables surrounding it. Jane purchased the grill for Edward for his birthday and he spent the last week learning how to safely cook on it. He figured he would add his own random movements, until he learned the complicated routine he saw the chefs perform.

“Are you ladies ready for the SHOW of the year?” Edward asked as he started moving the knife and spatula in crazy motions, not at all coordinated but he was having so much fun.

Edward went to pour oil on the pan when the doorbell rang. Edward stopped and Hermione went to answer the door.

She pulled open the door and there stood, to her utter surprise, found Sirius Black and Draco Malfoy standing in front of her.

On her doorstep. In Australia.

“Hey, little sis! Got a moment to talk?” Sirius grinned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Friday!!!!!!(or Saturday depending on timezones)!!!!!


	6. Chapter 6 - A Sirius Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday to my wonderful readers here is chapter 6. This chap it’s all shiny and betaed! I went back and reposted chaps 1 to 5 on both FF and A03, not much has changed, fixed a lot of punctuation issues and some minor changes to how a few of the scenes went. Nothing that will impact the story!
> 
> We officially have an ending to the fic, I wrote 19 this last weekend. Thanks so much to my alpha, the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all her help keeping this muse on track!
> 
> Gotta send a special shout out to The Muse of Apollo, the wonderful beta for this fic! You will see a much more polished story going forward with his help! So glad to have his help because I swear commas are going to be the end of me.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6

Hermione was speechless at the sight of the men standing in front of her, not comprehending why they were there and her mind was going into overdrive. Her heart was aching for her friend and he was RIGHT here.

“Sirius.” Hermione smiled as she pulled Sirius into a Granger bear hug.

“I’ve missed you, little sis.” Sirius did not want to end the hug, it had been far too long since he had visited.

“Missed you, too.” Hermione laughed trying to keep her tears at bay. Seeing Sirius and his warmth and friendship was filling a very deep hole inside Hermione. “Looks like you decided to jump on that last letter.”

“Well, kind of.” They walked into the living room. Draco followed behind and closed the door.

“Hi, Draco.” She was confused about why Draco was accompanying Sirius to her house. Sirius always came to visit on his own. Draco was carrying an official-looking briefcase. “So, what are you two doing here?”

Jean came around the corner when she heard male voices in the living room, and asked with a huge smile on her face, “Sirius Orion Black, what are you doing in my house? You must have been reading our minds and came to visit us early.” 

Sirius wrapped Hermione and Jean in a bear hug. He loved these two amazing ladies and it had been far too long since he had seen them.

“Ladies invite whomever that is to the kitchen now. I need to get COOKING,” Edward yelled from the kitchen.

Jean smiled at Draco, “The look on your face says you need to talk with us about something serious. Why don't we have dinner and then we can talk about whatever is in that briefcase?”

Draco nodded, “That sounds like a good plan, Mrs. Granger. Hermione, is that okay with you?”

Hermione laughed, “Mum has spoken and it shall be. I guess I can hold my curiosity for another few hours about why you are here Draco. Plus Sirius, Mum brought home some Lamington and vanilla strudel--” 

“Be still my heart Jean Grangers baking,” Sirius exclaimed and led the way to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later the five of them were sitting around the dining room table. Draco and Sirius presented them with the information they had found and explained the timeline they had figured out.

Hermione’s face went blank. She was trying to process everything they had said. She stood up from the table and started pacing back and forth. She asked Draco and Sirius to repeat everything so she could put her thoughts together. The room went silent as she tried to process everything. Waves could be heard crashing against the rocks outside. 

“So my biological mother is Allison Harwood.” She paused and let out a deep breath. “Sirius, did we ever check her off of that list we were looking at before?”

“Yeah we did cross her off in the beginning… none of us knew she was pregnant.”

She sighed, “So her modifying my parent’s memories was to protect me from Voldermort and the Deatheaters because the Harwoods were a light family, right?”

“Alice and Allison fought alongside all of us in the war,” Sirius said with a nod. “I don't remember what she did after the Hogwarts graduation. I know their murder is part of why the Longbottom’s went into hiding earlier than the Potters.”

“That bitch killed them,” she hissed, as tears started to spill down her cheeks and she sat back down at the table with her head in her hands.

When Jean and Edward reclaimed their memories, they asked Hermione to be honest with them about her experiences in the war. She told them about Bellatrix Lestrange and her history with the crazed woman. Jean still could not believe what her daughter had been through that night at Malfoy Manor and anytime it was brought up her heart hurt for her girl.

Hermione’s mind raced through these memories of the Lestranges and that fateful night in Malfoy Manor. “I hate that evil, vile, horrible, and terrible loathsome bitch,” she screamed that last part, anger coursing through her veins. 

She looked at Draco in the eyes and saw the shame in his eyes.

“Hermione, I am so sorry that I was a coward that night.” Draco’s words hung in the air like the salt from the ocean breeze that blew through the window.

“Draco, if you had spoken up, would it have done anything?” He shook his head. 

“Your silence saved our lives,” Hermione continued. “We were all in a stupid chaotic mess that was none of our faults. My therapist and I talked about that night a lot as I couldn’t sleep in a house alone without having night terrors. Draco… I do not blame you. Don't take that guilt into yourself. I hate that bitch, not you.” 

Tears fell down Draco’s cheeks. This was a release of guilt that he had been holding for years. When he saw Hermione’s name at Longbottom Manor, all those emotions came to the surface that had been tucked away in the back of his mind. “Hermione you are a better person than most.”

“I’ve grown up and fought my demons and you are not one of them, Draco.” She shrugged her shoulders trying to focus on something different.

She turned her left arm towards him and he could see in clear view the place where she was marked by Bellatrix. Instead of a jagged scar, Draco saw the magnificent tattoo that flowed from her neck down her shoulder and arm. The phoenix shot flames filled with so many symbols that the only ones he could make out were a lightning bolt and the deathly hallows symbol. He noticed that the symbols flowed through the shape of her mudblood scar.

Draco turned his left arm towards her so that she could see his dark mark scar. After Voldemort was destroyed all of the Deatheaters were left with a jagged scar that could not be removed from their arms. He had the same idea as Hermione and had a dragon weave in and out of the scar with scales and flames covering the scar itself. It was a green and red dragon, which surprised Hermione.

“That is beautiful, Draco.” Hermione pointed towards her scar, “Mine was a traumatic experience and was not of any fault of my own. I hope you see that yours is the same way, you were never given a choice.”

Sirius smiled at his nephew, proud of how far he had come in five short years. 

Draco tipped his head towards Sirius, “Black here made me and Harry go see both a Muggle and Magical therapists. I needed to talk about my demons and nightmares and life. I knew after the war that I needed help but I didn't know that it would change my life and make me into the man I am today. I have finally healed a lot of my scars and this was the icing on the cake. I needed to turn something ugly that held so much pain into beauty and something that I am proud to wear.” Draco used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe the tears from his face and handed her his handkerchief to wipe her face.

“Such a gentleman Malfoy, who knew when I punched you in the face so many years ago that you would be giving me your hanky.” Hermione made the cloth wet and wiped her face as best she could. “I wanted to do the same thing with my tattoo and didn’t realize that when you get a magical tattoo, it is living in your skin and reflects your emotions. Really brings to life the expression ‘I wear my feelings on my sleeve’.”

Jean laughed, “I love being able to see what you are thinking, Hermione.”

“Yeah, they are unique,” Draco said with a smile. “I found a muggle artist near my therapist’s office and fell in love with the artwork I saw in the windows. When I showed her my scar, she didn't cringe like a magical artist would have and drew this dragon before she even knew my name was Draco. It is the creature I feel most connected to.”

Sirius grabbed Hermione’s hand wanting to change the tone of the conversation, “I know this was a huge bombshell that we just dropped on your life. But really, it answers a lot of questions you had. I think you should explore your heritage because Alice and Allison were pretty powerful witches. If that memory block she put on your parents says anything. Also, you can start the search for who your bio-dad is.”

She let out a deep breath, focus on the positives of all of this, not on the negative. She at least knew the answer to one piece of the puzzle of her adoption. “Oh, Alice and Allison were sisters, so that means that Neville is my…” her mind finally caught up with her, “my cousin.” 

Her face lit up, she only ever had her parents as she was growing up. Jean and Edward were only children and she never had the experience of an extended family. And Neville, she knew him and now he was a part of her family.

“He wrote this letter to you.” Draco pulled out a letter and handed it across to her. 

Hermione took it and placed it delicately in front of her. “You know what is funny, Mum and I were talking about coming back for an extended vacation. I miss my home and it's not just the place, I miss Harry, Ron, Ginny, you Sirius, Luna, and everyone else that is linked to this crazy life. 

“I guess I just don't know how to step back into my life there because I am a different person.” Hermione’s voice was low and full of so much vulnerability, “I just left everyone and everything and never came back.” She balled her fists in anger and frustration at herself, “I had to do this for me to heal from all the scars but I feel that I,” tears welled in her eyes and her breath hitched, “just abandoned everyone. I left when he probably needed someone there most. Will they ever forgive me?” The last part was said at almost a whisper.

“Hermione, you don’t have to feel bad for leaving to heal yourself. Everyone had to deal with their PTSD in their own way, you needed to be here with your parents. There is no shame in that.” Draco was trying to help but felt like he was failing, “The main thing that people mention when your name is brought up is how much they miss you and want you to come home.”

In his mind, Draco added that Potter would be the first person to welcome her back with open arms. Harry had confided in Draco that he knew who was missing from his life and he wanted to do something about it. But it was not Draco’s place to drop that knowledge on her, she needed to see that for herself.

“Plus, Hermione, Luna has already told me I had to bring you home, your spirit has apparently been calling out to her. And that woman is scarily right about everything.” The group broke up laughing, the tension broke, all of them looking forward to the family’s return. 

~~~~~ End of Chapter ~~~~~

And now it's off to England everyone :)! Happy Tuesday!


	7. Chapter 7 - The Golden Trio is Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday to everyone, I am so happy to share this chapter with you! Without further ado… and with many many many thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 7 

Hermione’s sense of time was all messed up -- she quite literally traveled back nine hours back in time. To her body it was early in the evening but it was in fact late morning in England. She shook her head and took the potion that Sirius had given her before he left Australia. It would help to negate the floo-lag effects and reaccustom her body to UK time.

Her parents left the day before by plane since they had a very sickening experience using international floo a few years before. They swore they would never travel by magical means again. 

Hermione had spent her last day in Australia at the Hidden Codex and ended her day sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. She mused over how quickly everything had come together in the last week. Draco had left two days later, needing to finish the last steps for the Lestrange case, and promised Hermione he would find out more information about the inheritance of the Harwood estate. Sirius left Australia earlier in the week to get things ready for the expansion of the Sweet Shoppe. The Black Foundation was investing in fast-tracking the opening of the shop in England with Molly, Jean, and Edward. Jean and Edward were going to stay at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur while they searchedfor the new location for the Sweet Shoppe. 

Sirius invited Hermione to stay at Grimmauld Place as he kept the room by the library for her. She spent the week sending letters to her friends and getting the Hidden Codex ready to be run by her assistant manager.

Over the last four years, Hermione had a lot of things she wanted to say to the people in her life back home but didn't know if she should. Her therapist thought it would be a good idea for her to write the feelings down into letters but wait to send them until she was ready to send them or when she was ready to go back and see them. She was eternally grateful that she had done a lot of the emotional heavy lifting by having already written letters to her friends. She took a day and wrote notes saying that she was coming back for a long visit to see everyone and sent the previously written letters with them.

Hermione kept a separate journal where she wrote to Harry every week she called it her Dear Harry journal. When she made the decision to stay in Australia for an extended period of time, she felt such immense guilt for leaving him. She had never left Harry, no matter what happened in their lives, she was always by his side. It was like a piece of her heart that had been missing when she didn’t write to him. She found that writing in the journal every week was a way to cope with the loneliness. In the beginning, she always thought she would eventually send the journal to him, so he could see that he was never far from her thoughts. 

This is exactly what she did the day after she decided to come back to England. She wrote him a letter explaining about the journal and that she hoped he would see that he had never been far from her thoughts.

Harry sent back a stack of letters that he had written but never sent her. She spent a lot of time sitting by her fireplace reading through his monthly letters from the last four years. She could see that even though she was not there in person, she had been on his mind as much as he had been on hers. She could not wait to see him and that is why she caught an earlier floo back to England that morning. She wanted to find Harry and see him before the welcome back dinner at the Burrow that night.

Hermione apparated after she made her way out of customs to Grimmauld Place to drop off her luggage. The house was a welcome silence from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Hermione walked around Grimmauld Place, taking in the remodeled interior of the house. Sirius spent a lot of time turning the house into a welcoming and inviting home. The exterior looked the same as it had been the last time she was there, albeit much cleaner. The inside was such a contrast as it looked like a modern loft with exposed beams, concrete, and steel accents everywhere. 

She set her purse down on the table in the entrance hallway and poked her head into the large combined open kitchen, living, and dining room. He combined the first and second floor of this part of the house and the light from the wall of windows facing the park filled the space with sunshine.

Sirius had redecorated the room on what had been the third floor near the library for her. It was cozily painted in a rich blue tone with gold accents. She was especially glad to see the fireplace that adorned an entire wall with bookshelves surrounding it. She was going to use that fireplace everyday, instant therapy at the lighting of the wood.

Next to the window was a desk and her owl was sitting on the perch next to it, asleep. The jet black owl opened one eye at the opening of the door. He stretched his wings and hooted at her.

“Hey, Frankie boy.” She grabbed a treat from the desk and handed it to him. He delicately took the treat from her and ate it while she rubbed his head, “I am glad you made it here, fella. Would you be up for taking a letter to Harry for me after I get a shower?”

The owl hooted with a response that Hermione knew to mean yes. 

“But first, mister, I brought you your home.” She pulled her beaded bag out of her pocket and dug around until she found the shrunk down extra-large perch and play structure that had toys, platforms, and a nesting box on different levels for the Owl to enjoy. An islander in the Torres Straits made custom perches for birds and she found this one when she was visting the islands in the north of Australia. She knew that her newly adopted owl would need more stimulation. Hermione always paused to admire the masterful workmanship. The perches were carved from different types of wood and had interciate shapes carved into them.

She reached her arm out and allowed Frankie to gently step out onto her forearm. She put the perch on the floor and quickly reversed the shrinking spell. She kissed the owl on the head before she moved her arm over to the level that had his food and water dishes. He started preening himself, completely happy to be on his throne.

"Now that you're all set, my boy, it's time to unpack." She pulled all of the contents out of her bag and onto the bed. Everything quickly found a place around the room, clothes into the wardrobe, pictures around the room, and knickknacks on the shelves and desk. She grabbed her bathroom stuff and headed to the bathroom to grab a quick shower and change.

She made her way back into the room and threw her clothes in the laundry basket. She turned around and Frankie was staring at her then looked at the paper on the desk, “Sorry boy, let me write the letters real quick.” She knew he was just as impatient as she was.

She sat down at the desk and wrote a note to Harry and Ron that she was going to go to Diagon Alley and wanted to meet them there if they could.

She rolled up the letters and sealed them. She grabbed the small bag that was hanging on the side of the perch. Frankie turned around and she put the letters in the bag and buckled it on to his back. She never liked tieing letters to their foot, it seemed so antiquated and a terribly inefficient way for them to fly. When she found Frankie at an owlery in Australia she made the small backpack that had an undetectable extension charm on it so that he could fly easier.

Frankie carefully walked his way over to the window, which magically opened for him and dove out it. She watched as he flew over the park and into the distance.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stepped foot in Diagon Alley for the first time in four years. She stopped to take in all of the sights, smells and sounds that flooded her senses. The Australian Wizarding community was spread out throughout the large country. Hermione never saw so many magical people in one place, except when she visited the Academy. Even the large school didn't come close to this epicenter of British magical society. It was overwhelming and comforting at the same time. 

Hermione stood there for a long time looking around at all the people milling about the Alley, it seemed pretty busy for a Friday morning. Her eyes floated over to the tables set outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She watched a couple enjoying a morning cinnamon roll and coffee. Hermione loved seeing how the perfect bite of food could make a person light up. Hermione worked at the Sweet Shoppe and her appreciation for food and grew. She thoroughly enjoyed cooking and baking especially since it was very process-oriented.

Hermione noticed the glares people shot back at her and realized that she was holding up traffic. She joined the rush of people and continued down the alley taking in all of the changes. There were many more offshoots from the main thoroughfare with new businesses that had started after the war. On her right, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes had taken over an entire city block in the Alley and had expanded up into four stories of shopping. She looked around trying to see if Harry or Ron were waiting for her but did not see them. She had to remind herself that she had just sent the letters just fifteen minutes before.

Hermione’s eyes lit up as she saw what she considered her Diagon Alley home, Flourish & Blotts. The outside of the building looked exactly the same as it had when she first visited that shop so many years ago. The stores next door had changed, as was life, but it was the same bookstore that warmed her heart and soul. She felt a pang in her heart for her Codex. Like magic, she was drawn into the warm embrace of Flourish and Blotts. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had a pep in his step as he moved through the crowds in Diagon Alley. It seemed to be busier than normal for Friday. Harry was a man on a mission this morning. He wanted to find some new ingredients for a dessert he wanted to make for the welcome home party. Last year the Cibus Cove Farmers market opened in Diagon Alley to much acclaim. The Black Foundation purchased a block of buildings and opened it up to allow local farmers and artisanal foodies from around the community to open shops. It was a very popular foodie destination and where Harry did most of his grocery shopping. He wanted to make something unique for the party but needed some inspiration.

He watched as the crowds sidestepped a woman who had stopped in the middle of Alley and wasn’t moving. Harry could relate to the stranger, he knew that feeling of seeing Diagon Alley for the first time, it was magical in so many ways. She turned and walked into Flourish and Blotts before he could see her face.

He got distracted when he saw a jet black owl land on a perch hoot at him. He quickly recognized the owl as Hermione’s familiar, which he had just met when Hermione had finally sent him a letter. He walked over to the owl, “Hey, Frank.”

Frank turned around and Harry opened the bag on his back and saw two letters addressed, one to him and the other to Ron. He took his letter and closed the backpack. The owl took off towards the Auror office.

Harry opened the letter and smiled at the familiar scrawl,

Hey Harry, 

I got an early floo in and wanted to see if you and Ron wanted to get together before the party. I can't wait to see you. I am going to head to Diagon Alley and will find somewhere to wait for you. Send Frankie back if you can't make it.

Love,  
Hermione

Harry received the first letter in four years from Hermione a week ago with the news that she was coming back to England. She included her journal with the letter and asked him to read it.

Harry stayed up all night reading through her ‘Dear Harry’ journal. He read about her journey over the last four years. It was such an emotional roller-coaster that she took him on in the book from her breakdown in the middle of the monsoon to telling her family everything about the war to her struggles on the anniversary of the final battle each year. He could see the evolution of Hermione as she wrote page after page of updates in the journal. As the years went by he could see her healing as she grew into herself and built her confidence. The last entry detailed exactly what Draco had told her about her biological family and her musings on it. She ended it with a note to Harry, that read: “So starts a new journey for me, the Harwood Heritage Hunt, no wait that’s too punny of a name. Well whatever I am going to call this, I cannot wait to have you by my side, Harry Potter, if you’ll join me.”

As hurt as he had been when she stayed in Australia, this journal gave him a better insight into why she made the hard decision that she did. It helped him to heal a lot of the pain. After Harry finished the journal, he got the courage to send her the letters that he had written to her each month that she was gone. He hoped she would see his journey of growth and healing through them, as he was doing with her journal.

Harry carefully folded the letter and headed in the same direction the owl had flown to get Ron and find Hermione. He quickly walked into the white marble building. The serious expression on people standing around the lobby made Harry eternally grateful for leaving the academy. He and his friends fought the big bad and he was glad to have a job focused on building a better future for the world.

He stopped in front of the secretary, “Hi Shelly, I am here to Auror Weasley, I don't have an appointment--”

“Heya Harry,” Ron came out of the back of the building holding up Hermione’s letter with a huge grin on his face, “Let’s go find the brains to our operation.”

They walked out of the office and down the alley.

~~~~~~~

Hermione wandered around the shop. In just a few minutes she had found two books that had caught her interest. She had to stop herself from getting lost for hours in the book store, she had to find her best friends. She stepped back out into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, her heart so much lighter. She looked around the alley and her gaze stopped on the duo across the street.

~~~~~~

Harry was scanning the area looking for his Hermione and almost tripped when he stepped on the untied lace of his trainer. Harry stopped to tie his shoe across the street from Flourish and Blotts.

“Harry, it’s Hermione.” He pointed at the entrance to the bookstore and Harry’s eyes went instantly to the sunkissed brunette staring at them.

Harry’s heart skipped a beat when he realized she was the woman that he had seen stopped in the alley that morning. But this was not the Hermione of their childhood. It looked like she spent every day in the sun with her olive tanned shoulders. Hermione was dressed in a bright red and gold sundress and her left arm was covered in a magical tattoo that went from shoulder to hand. He remembered reading all about her in her journal and it looked so much better in person. Hermione’s brown eyes locked with his green and a tear slid down Hermione’s cheek as she smiled.

Hermione flung herself from the entrance and ran across the cobble lined street. Harry swore that she looked like a phoenix flying towards them as her dress and hair flowed behind her. Harry took off that instant towards her. His heart was screaming to have her in his arms.

“Harry.” She exclaimed as she reached him and jumped into his outstretched arms with more abandon than she had done that fateful day at the end of their second year when she was unpetrified.

“Hermione,” Harry picked her up and spun her around and around, elated that she was finally here in his arms. Harry smiled as he placed her back down on the ground. 

Hermione had dreamed of this moment for so long and it was even better than she ever imagined. Her heart skipped a beat as she was surrounded by his familiar presence. Hermione felt light-headed at the rush of emotions that coursed through her veins. 

“Ronald.” she laughed as he caught up to the two of them in the middle of the alley joined them in a three way hug. Everything clicked in place, the Trio was back. 

Her teary eyes met Harry’s emerald eyes first, so many unspoken words passed between them in an instant. A blush crept on both their cheeks. 

Hermione never wanted this moment to end. Tears were flowing freely now as she whispered, “I missed you both so much.” 

Ron broke the silence, “Feels like we are back at school and the brains of our operation has returned to us.” They all laughed, “It's been far too long, Hermione, and look at how grown up I am, no more handshakes between us.”

“Glad your emotional range has grown Ronald, what is it now a cup?” 

Ron stepped back from them and burst out laughing. Harry grinned at her, “I wouldn’t say it’s that much bigger.”

Noticing the looks that he was getting from the people passing by, Ron stopped laughing so loud. “Come on Hermione you know me, I am a bit dense sometimes but my Luna has helped, so pretty close to the cup. So how does lunch sound to the two of you, my treat?”

Hermione nodded, “That sounds good, I don't really remember when’s the last time I ate, it's morning now right?” the trio started down the street to a new restaurant that Ron told them he wanted to try.

Harry kept his arm around her shoulder as they walked down the street, Harry whispered, “I am never letting you go, Hermione.”

Hermione’s heart was screaming at his declaration, she brushed strands of hair from his eyes, “Don't you ever let go, Harry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Chapter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you liked that… the trio is back together!


	8. Chapter 8 - Morning Fun and Party Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday and I hope you enjoy it! Took so long because I added five more pages of writing to this chap in the last week :)!
> 
> So many thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 8

The trio walked out of Diagon Alley and into the muggle world.

“So this place is new and has like tapas meets pub food and so much beer.” Ron stopped and looked at Hermione, “oh I forgot to ask do you…”

“Ronald, give me a strong IPA any day and I am a happy girl. The perfect first meal back in London -- fancy pub grub.”

They continued on and five minutes later stopped in front of the restaurant. The front wall of windows was actually garage doors that had been opened up to take full advantage of the wonderful weather.

Ron walked up to the hostess and then motioned for them to follow as she took them to their seat.

A very cheerful man walked up to their table as they sat down. “Welcome to Beer Merchants Tap, I am Jack, I am going to be helping you today. First, you will see a large selection of beers on the back of your menu, please let me know if you have any questions or want to try a sample. I am going to bring you out some waters and give you a chance to look everything over.” 

Hermione instantly flipped the menu over, taking in the over fifty beers they had on tap and triple that in cans and bottles. They had beers from all over the continent and a large assortment of local English beers. Her eyes moved around the list mentally notating which ones she wanted to try. She looked up and found Harry and Ron staring at her.

“What?”

“Never thought I would see the day that you would be studying a beer menu with that same look you had a Hogwarts when you found a new book.” Harry grinned.

“No, it's that look she had when rereading Hogwarts a History.” Ron laughed.

“I love beer, it’s my favorite adult drink. My dad introduced it to me and it's something we bonded over. And just so you know, Ronald, Hogwarts a History pairs quite well with a stout or Belgian,” she said with a grin. 

“Of course you’d know the right book and beer pairings. So Ron, what is good here?” Harry asked looking at the overwhelming amount of beers listed on the menu.

Ron flipped his menu to the food side, “The truffle fries, steak & kidney hushpuppies, oh, the treacle pudding empanada were excellent.” Ron noticed Harry pointing at the beer menu. “Oh yeah, beers. I don't know, I usually just get a pint of Guinness--”

“Ronald,” Hermione said with a shake of her head, “in this kind of restaurant you have to try new things. That’s the point of it. We have a restaurant like this on the beach near the Sweet Shoppe, they bring together all the breweries in the area and sell everything on tap. The food is super beachy but still the same concept. I have tried so many new things that way, that’s how I learned to like IPA’s. You have no idea what you’ll like--”

She stopped noticing the mirth on both of their faces. Ron laughed, “Glad to know you are still our Hermione. I got my first Granger lecture in less than an hour of you being back. Ah feels good.”

“Ron you choose the food, I will order us drinks,” Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.

“I like this idea, then I don't have to make any choices.” Harry pushed his menu to the middle of the table.

Ron focused on the food menu while Hermione turned to Harry, “What do you like to drink Harry?”

Harry shrugged his shoulders, “I like dark and hoppy beers but I will try anything. You have fun choosing.” The look of delight on her face made him smile.

“Then we are getting flights and trying new stuff.” Hermione grabbed a pen from the middle of the table and started marking up the paper menu.

“What's a flight?” Ron asked

“A flight is you choose four different beers and they give you small servings of them. It gives you a chance to try more beers. Its a good way to get to try a little bit of everything and not drink an entire pint of each flavor.”

“Well you have even more fun choosing, that's way too many options for me.” Ron laughed.

When the server came back they proceeded to order their flights of beers and food. After the server brought their drinks, Harry held up a glass and they clinked their glasses together. “Cheers to the first of many lunches together again.”

“Well, that is If this ole workaholic over here ever takes a break.” Harry nodded his head towards Ron. Harry wanted to let Ron fill Hermione in on his life, he knew that Ron’s letter writing skills left something to be desired. He had the journals and she had his letters, and he planned to find more time to dive deeper into what they had read.

Ron sighed, “well with my project finally getting off the ground, my responsibilities have increased a lot…”

Hermione took a sip of her beer, enjoying the bitter fruity taste, “You did not mention a new project in your letters.”

“Too much to explain in the letters. I spent two weeks last summer working with a wizard that had joined the City of London Police. He left the Auror academy two years before the final battle -- he had had enough of the bigotry. He knew Percy back in the day and reached out to connect with someone in the Academy after the war. I learned so much and there is so much that the muggles do that I think could help us out a lot. So I proposed the idea to do a longer internship with the muggle police to my Captain last fall.”

“Did they give you a lot of issues getting it started?” Hermione asked knowing how difficult the ministry was to change.

Ron finished his first beer taster and moved to the second. “Reggie was very receptive to it but the others above him were very hesitant. Things have been improving over the last four years but you still have bigots in the Ministry that make our lives hard. They wouldn’t come out and say ‘we can't learn anything from the muggles’ so they decided to focus on the financial aspect of it.”

He pointed at the second cup half drank, “This is really good, well glad I now know I like amber ale. They said they would be wasting the salary of perfectly good Aurors on this crazy idea. So I came up with the idea to ask for Junior Aurors and myself to be assigned to this.” 

Ron paused when Jack brought the first round of food to the table.

“Beers all good?” Jack asked and the trio all nodded, “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks Jack,” Ron grabbed a truffle fry from the plate and ate it, “This is my favorite thing here, so good.” he took another sip of beer, “So I had so many meetings over the last half a year justifying this to everyone under the sun. On the flip side, I also had to make sure my contact with the PD was able to get the appropriate permissions for our venture. Its been a logistical nightmare” he shook his head, “But it all has come together over the last month so in a month the two Greenies and I will be donning the muggle uniform and spending anywhere from six months to a year serving with them in various capacities from patrolling the streets to management roles.”

Hermione was a bit taken aback. This was not the Ron from their childhood, he had grown up so much and was stepping up and taking leadership. She and Harry listened as he told the story of how he ended up in the River Thames after chasing down a thief. They finished the first round of drinks and food and ordered more. They got the pint-size of their favorite beer from their flights.

“Well, I have been talking too much,” Ron grinned. “Thanks for making me try something new, I really liked that amber ale. Still don’t know how you two can drink IPAs -- they’re gross.”

“We have elevated tastes, Ron,” Harry teased. “So how do you like Grimmauld Place?”

Hermione shrugged, “Grimmauld Place is amazing. You two did a really great job with the remodel, it looks like a completely different house.”

“You like your room?”

“I love it, I am shocked that Sirius came up with all those choices---”

Harry laughed and raised his hand, “That was me, I designed your room. Sirius’ idea of decorating is to slap some gold and red on everything and call it house colors. He did a lot of the structural planning with the engineers and I did most of the decorating, with some help from Ginny. He of course likes to take the credit.”

“Well it’s just perfect Harry, I was really happy to see the shelves filled with books that I have not read. Thanks for all your hard work.” She clinked glasses with him.

Harry was pleased with her reaction to the room. He took a lot of inspiration for it from one of the reading rooms in the library at Potter manor. He thought it would make a good bedroom design. He handpicked the books to fill the shelves the evening before from the Potter library.

“Feel good to be back?” Ron asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, “No clue Ron, right now I am living in the moment. I am just glad I got to see you two first and have a beer. Everything else… kind of a bundle of nerves about everything.”

Ron started in on the barbecue chicken nachos, “I’ll admit I was mad when you didn’t return and even more so when Harry dropped out of the Academy. But I am glad that you stayed and he left, you ripped that plaster right off. I needed to stand on my own away from the two of you and my family. I think I have succeeded in standing on my own. All I have done in the Auror’s has been for me and because I worked my ass off for it.”

“Same here, as I am sure you have read in the letters, I was angry with you for a long time for leaving. I felt so alone and the only thing that saved me was going to therapy. My family life was shit and a lot about Hogwarts was rough. You were the one that I depended the most on and who never left.” he drank a sip of his beer and continued, “But that anger was not fair to you and that realization was a big turning point for me. I realized that my hurt and anger towards you was misplaced. I finally understood that you left to heal yourself and I had to do the same thing. Really, the three of us really had to stand on our own.”

Hermione let out a deep breath she had been holding in, “I agree with that Harry. I spent so much time focusing on taking care of you two and others that I never focused on me. I hated being alone and could not sit by myself in my thoughts. I am so thankful for my therapist because I would not have worked up the courage to face the scary thoughts by myself.” Hermione took a sip of her beer and gathered her thoughts.

Harry set his drink down and reached over and grabbed her hand, tracing circles on her palm as she continued, “Even though I am now fine being alone, I missed you two everyday. Before Sirius and Draco came, I had that letter written to both of you saying that I wanted to come visit.”

Harry smiled, knowing that from her journal and gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance.

Ron laughed, “I knew you couldn’t stay away forever. The trio had to get back together.”

They smiled at each other.

Hermione turned to Harry “So I know that Ron was at work this morning, Harry what were you up to?”

“I took the day off from work today, wanted to make food for the party tonight and help set up. Me and my team from the Foundation all worked too many hours leading up to the fifth anniversary event. So we are all exhausted and are taking random days off to relax and unwind. The rest of the time is collating data from the fifth anniversary event. And preparing to start on our next project.”

Harry saw her eyes shine at the mention of the project, “I will tell you all about the project later, right now since we are all done with the food, how about we head to Cibus and get the dessert stuff?”

“What is Cibus? And do you know what dessert we are going to make?” she asked quickly.

“It’s a farmer’s market started by the Black Foundation in Diagon Alley. I have no clue what we are going to make. I wanted to get some inspiration from whatever is there.”

“Sounds good. I'll go pay.” Ron got up from the table 

Harry and Hermione finished the last sips of their drinks. Hermione grabbed the last fry as Harry went to grab it. She split it in half and handed it to him.

“So generous of you.”

“I try Harry, I try.”

They left the restaurant and walked back into the Alley. Hermione had a slight buzz from the beer and good company. The boys were pointing out changes in the buildings as they walked. The coffee shop, Wizards Brew was calling her name, and right next to it was an Alchemist, Got Brews. 

She pointed out the shops to Harry as they walked down the road, “so punny.” 

He grinned at her.

They ended at the Cubis Cove. It was in one of the taller buildings in the alley that was painted in bright pastel colors. It looked like an Easter egg had thrown up all over it but it definitely stood out. Hermione looked up at the windows which had colorful advertisements and even some of the items displayed. The fruit basket in the window on the right looked like it had the most perfect fruit she had ever seen in it, considering the cost of 30 galleons, she hoped it was designer fruit like what they sold in Japan. 

Ron opened the door, and Harry followed Hermione in, his hand on the small of her back guiding her to left. They must have walked around for a good two hours exploring all of the vendors in the market. Harry was in his element, this was his favorite place to hang out and now he was here with two of his favorite people.

They stopped in the food court area and grabbed a boba tea. Harry and Hermione were discussing favorite desserts to make. Ron just sat back and enjoyed his Thai tea, not knowing anything about baking, happy to let them debate the dessert of choice.

Hermione grabbed a pad of paper out of her pocket and pen. She proceeded to draw a picture of the cake with the three very distinct layers, “I know what dessert we should make. It's called a Jelly Slice. So, it's a trio of flavors made by the Golden Trio.” 

The guys shook their heads at her attempt at a joke.

“So what I love about this is it looks super fancy but is simple to make. It was the third dessert I learned how to make at the Shoppe. My mum used it to show me how to make three essentials in pastry.” they nodded at her, “So first we make a crust made out of crushed biscuits. Then we layer a homemade custard on top of that. And last is a homemade jelly or jello layer.”

Ron nodded, “Well that sounds really good. So we each choose a flavor then?”

Hermione nodded enthusiastically, “I saw some Devon heavy cream and want to try to make a clotted cream custard. True English classic.”

“The strawberries at Lola’s produce looked amazing, we can make jelly or turn it into juice for the jello,” Harry added.

“So I am left with the crust then. Oh, how about Oreos?”

Hermione shook her head, “That is just weird Ronald, what other biscuits do you like?”

“I bet we can find some vanilla biscuits from one of the vendors.” 

“That sounds much better. Let’s go shopping.” She wrote down a list of other items they would need to buy, “No clue if Molly has all of the other stuff so let’s grab it here.” She pulled the beaded bag out of her pocket.

“You still have that bloody thing?” Ron exclaimed.

Hermione shot a glare at him. “Hey you better be thankful for this thing, it saved our lives.”

Ron grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug, “I am more grateful than I have ever said to you, Hermione.” 

Hermione’s eyes watered, “Oh Ron.”

Harry grabbed the shopping list from the table. “You two ready to do some shopping?”

“Yeah.” Ron kept his arm slung over her shoulder as they walked down the aisles.

As they bought the items they needed, Hermione shrunk them down and put them in the cold or storage section of the bag. They quickly finished their shopping.

“So we have,” Harry looked at his watch, “five hours until the party. Hermione will that cold section in the bag keep our stuff good for another two hours so we can keep going through Diagon Alley?”

Hermione grabbed Harry’s elbow that he held out for her, “Sounds perfect, let the way kind, sir.”

Ron laughed as they walked out of the door, “then its jelly slice time.” he pumped his fist in the air and the duo followed behind him, she never let go of his arm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To the Granger family.” Molly raised her wine glass, tears shone in her eyes as everyone raised their glasses to toast the return of the family.

They returned from the alley three hours before the party was set to start to make their dessert. Her parents were already at the Burrow when they arrived. While the parents cooked dinner, the trio commandeered the island to make their dessert. Molly had expanded the kitchen in the Burrow and was finally big enough for more than two people to be preparing food.

Molly had outdone herself for the welcome back dinner. She set tables around the yard with the fancy china and decorated everything in Gryffindor colors. They hung twinkling lights outside that were adding to the ambiance of the party. The food had been a big hit, she cooked all of Hermione, Jean, and Edwards favorites and everyone brought sides and desserts to share. 

The conversations got louder and louder as the night and drinks went on. Molly took that as a good sign, her family was together and everyone was happy. People started getting up and moving around the backyard enjoying post-dinner family time.

Hermione had not moved an inch all night, partly due to the five-year-old Teddy who had glued himself to her side and the fact that everyone at the party came by the table to catch up with her. Teddy was completely content to sit and color his comic book heroes coloring book, Hermione by his side and Harry on the other side of her.

Hermione laughed when she heard her mother yell towards Molly, “M you didn’t tell me Gin wanted it for her wedding cake. I make the best Lamington in Australia if I do say so myself. I could have solved a lot of heartache.”

Hermione watched as her mum led Ginny over to where her dessert was sitting on the table.

“Well I am old and things slip my brain, crazy woman. You better save some for me!” Molly laughed and joined them at the dessert table.

Hermione watched the three women dig into the lamington cake that Hermione had brought from the Sweet Shoppe. Ron and Teddy were having a serious debate about the best Quidditch team. Harry and Hermione were both checked out of the conversation, enjoying people watching while sitting in companionable silence and stealing glances at each other. Hermione tapped the table in front of her getting Teddy and Ron’s attention.

“Okay gentlemen, I am going to leave you here to discuss the Cannons and grab some dessert. Do you want anything?

“Yes please, Nee Nee.” Teddy changed his hair to match hers with a goofy grin.

Harry ruffled Teddy’s hair and nodded his head, “I would love some of the jelly slice.”

“Me too, whatever that is,” Teddy chimed in trying to be a part of the conversation too, “And get Uncle Ron a lot of desserts, NeeNee, he will eat them all. He says it because he is an Auror but I think he just likes to eat.”

Hermione laughed and moved away from the table. She glanced back and met Harry’s eyes staring intently at her. She turned towards the table and tried as hard as she could to keep the butterflies in her stomach from bursting out. She added a skip to her step as she made her way to the dessert table. Hermione grabbed a selection of desserts from the table and claimed the last three slices of Lamington.

Hermione turned around and took in the scene behind her. She watched Ron and Harry get up from the table and chase after Teddy. He had been baiting them all night to play tag and must have finally convinced them. She saw her father sitting with Fleur and Bill talking animatedly about what she had to assume was the Sweet Shoppe. 

Jean, Molly, and Ginny had a pad of paper out and were sketching what must have been a wedding cake. Bill and Fleur's twins were leading Draco out of the house, he was carrying what looked to be a large bag of celebration poppers. Draco opened the bag and handed them out to all of the kids and pointed towards the adults. Draco quickly moved away as the pops, confetti, and toys started going everywhere. He walked towards Ginny and saw the wedding notebook and joined the discussion with his fiancée.

Hermione made her way back to the table and set down the desserts. Ron and Teddy took off towards the Quidditch pitch as the younger kids and a few adults headed towards the pitch. Harry made his way back over to Hermione.

“Ron is such a sucker for quidditch,” Harry said as he sat down next to Hermione, his hand trailed across her shoulders leaving a trail of fire in their wake. “He is going to pay for his cocky talk about how he was the best keeper at Hogwarts. Teddy has taken to the game like a fish even at five.” 

He looked at the plate filled with desserts, “well I guess we have some dessert to eat don't we?”

Harry was taking his declaration of never letting her go seriously. Anytime he was close to her, he was touching her in some way. At the table, he kept one arm over her chair and played with her hair throughout dinner. Harry had never been this physically expressive in the old days and it was leaving Hermione hyper-aware of his every movement. Her breath quickened whenever he was around and her body unconsciously responded to his every move. She felt like she was going crazy all night.

She took in a deep breath trying to focus on anything but the hand resting on the back of her chair.Hermione pointed to the Lamington, “So this the first dessert for you to try. It was the first thing I learned to make in the Sweet Shoppe and is one of my top ten desserts I couldn’t live without.”

Hermione turned in her seat and watched his face, wanting to see the look of joy she knew would grace his handsome face. 

Harry’s eyes lit up at the orchestra of flavors exploded in his mouth. “I was not expecting that at all. I love coconut and chocolate and that over that cake. Is that butter cake?” She nodded. “That really was the perfect bite of food.”

Hermione swatted Harry’s hand away as he reached for the plate. She leaned close to him and whispered, “I wouldn’t say no to going inside and finding Molly’s stash of hooch and adding it to some whipped cream for this Lamington since we don't have to share with the kiddo.”

Harry stood up from the table and grabbed Hermione’s hand and the plate of desserts, “You are a genius, Beautiful.” and they walked into the kitchen. The term of endearment just rolled off his tongue and Harry was going to go with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The family gathered in the living room as the night weaned on. Children were put to bed and the adults enjoyed a nightcap while continuing to talk the night away. As the hours ticked away, so did the number of people downstairs. Draco and a sleeping Ginny were the last to leave the room. And that just left Hermione and Harry sitting in the low lit room, the fire burning in the background.

Their eyes met and she blushed at the intensity of his gaze, thankful that the darkness hid it. Throughout the night, others had prevented Harry from sitting next to Hermione so he settled for sitting across from her. She tipped her head towards the kitchen.

“I don't want to go to sleep.” She sighed and walked around the kitchen, “I have such a rush of energy.” She stopped and grabbed a strawberry that was left on the counter and popped it in her mouth. “I saw a fire pit out there, do you think Molly has some marshmallows and chocolate?”

Harry turned around and started rummaging through the cupboards to find the supplies, “I know she has… Oh, here it is.” he grabbed the s’mores kit from the back of the cupboard.

Hermione got into the fridge and found some adult butterbeer and exclaimed. “Score, Molly knows how to stock and...” she looked around the kitchen and grabbed an opened bag of chips, “Trust me, my creation of potato chip crusted smores are the best.”

She skipped around the kitchen and out the door. Harry followed behind and grabbed a blanket from the bench beside the door. Hermione danced her way towards the firepit and with a swish of her hand she silently casted wandless fire that lit the logs on fire. She grabbed the blanket from Harry’s hand and laid it out in front of the bench. She set the treats she had grabbed on the bench and sat down.

Harry sat back against the bench as she handed him a butterbeer. “Cheers, Harry.”

They clinked bottles and Hermione moved to sit beside him, both enjoying the crack of the fire. “I have the most amazing fireplace in my beach house. I have spent so many nights staring into the fire. Ready for more sugar?”

Harry reached behind her and grabbed the marshmallows. He stood up and roasted them over the fire. Hermione grabbed the graham crackers and put the chocolate on top of them. She crumbled the chips on top of the chocolate so that they would be covered in melted chocolate. 

“Ready for the mallows?” Harry asked before he took them off the heat. 

“Yes.” He pulled the marshmallows off the skewers and on the chocolate. Hermione put the top on the s’more as he sat down. They started eating dessert

“So your journal was really eye-opening for me Hermione. And just so you know, I do forgive you for staying in Australia. Thank you for sharing your journey with me, it really made me feel like I was right there with you.”

Hermione set her s’more down and hugged him. Having her in his arms felt so damn right that he never wanted her to leave. Everything from their meeting in Diagon Alley, to the cooking together in the kitchen, to the party, made him feel complete for the first time since she left. Harry noticed that she was crying. He handed her a napkin and said softly, “Hey that wasn’t supposed to make you cry, Hermione.” 

“These are sad and happy tears all at the same time Harry… I have been so worried I wouldn't fit back in with everyone and things would be distant between us. I didn’t want to leave you Harry.” She met his eyes and he brushed the tears from her cheeks. “I am glad that you sent the letters you wrote. It helped me to feel like I was a part of everything here.”

“I hope you liked the story when Molly found out Draco and Ginny were dating. I hope I captured the true hilarity of the moment.” 

“I can only imagine, I am going to have to ask Ginny about that one because it sounded mortifying for her”. She sat back down next to Harry but kept his arm around her shoulder, playing with her hair as they ate their treat.

She leaned her head on his shoulder, as he asked “Can you tell me about the Hidden Codex?”

Hermione grinned at him, “Oh Harry, yes, my Codex, oh I love it so much. It started out as a freakin wreck. So I found this magical bookshop on a cliff about a mile from the Sweet Shoppe. It was a ghost town but I visited there three or four times a week. Australia has so many forms of magic and you know my thirst for knowledge. I think I bought almost every book they had in the shop.”

“Bet you kept that place in business for a while didn’t you?”

“Oh no, even my extensive business could not keep that mess of a run shop alive. The owners only catered to the very limited magical population around there. They had some of the strongest non-magical deterrent wards. So basically it was me learning about Australian aboriginal magic and a few other magical’s from around Clearwater.”

Harry reached for another s’more and handed another butterbeer to Hermione. She took a sip and continued, “I went there to apply for a job after being in Australia for a few months. I was restless and needed something to do. While I loved the Sweet Shoppe, it was not well… me--”

“Yeah, I get that, while baking is fun,” he set his s’more down and pointed at his head, “it’s not the mental challenge you need.” Hermione nodded and quicker than he thought possible snatched the half of the s’more from the plate and took a bite and handed it back to him, “You sneak.” He wiggled his finger at her and grabbed her butterbeer and took a sip.

“So I went to the bookshop to apply for a job and the owner said they were selling it. Apparently a condo developer wanted to buy the land.”

“So just like you wrote in the journal, the great Hermione Granger swooped in to save the day.”

Hermione laughed and finished her butterbeer. “Oh no Harry, I would have never thought to buy it, to be honest. I went back to the Sweet Shoppe, sad, angry, and ranted the entire afternoon. I wouldn’t shut up about the bookstore and my mom got so annoyed at me. She said to stop ranting about it and do something about it and that maybe it needed to be my new project. I had all that money from the war in my account from the Ministry but hadn’t touched it. I left the shop and spent the rest of the week figuring out my plan of attack.”

“So of course I dug into the history of the bookshop and learned it went back to the Magical settling of Australia. It had so much history and I fell in love with the idea of saving her. It felt like such good use of that money. So at the end of the week, I took a proposal to the owners of the store. That’s why you only got the swooping in and saving the day thing in the journal.” She shook her head. “Merlin, I was so damn sure of myself when I walked into the shop and put down a bag of Galleons. I told them I wanted the shop and the teal house on the cliff because I found out they owned it.”

“Well, that was audacious…”

“And terrifying Harry. They took the money because they wanted out from the mountain of debt they were in. And just like that, I was the owner of the shop. I thought, how hard could owning a business be?”

She recalled stories about the beginning of the shop and the changes she made and the customers that made it all worth it. Her enthusiasm was infectious and Harry could see that she had found her calling. Hermione was so smart, clever, loved to learn, could teach, and was resourceful that so many avenues were open to her. She found a very Hermione way to share knowledge with the masses, touch lives, and be surrounded by books all the time.

“I’ve been talking way too much,” she lightly poked him in the side. “So tell me about the Potter Foundation. You wrote a bit about it in the letters but just enough to tickle my curiosity.”

“I love my career baby as much as you do yours!” They laughed together in understanding. “I always thought I would be an Auror. You know the Boy-who-Lived fighting against the dark after he defeated the big baddie Moldy Voldie. But six months of training and I was spiraling out of control. It was you, Hermione,” he moved to face her, wanting her to hear this, “who convinced me to finally leave.”

Hermione looked up at him biting her bottom lip. “Really?”

Harry pushed a lock of hair out of her face. “We went through so much in our lives…” he let out a deep breath and caressed her cheek. Harry was surprised at how normal and completely crazy all of this felt when she leaned into his touch.

Her brown eyes met his emerald and he continued, a blush on both of their cheeks, “From seventeen-thousand miles away you were there for me. Sirius told me how you were going to see someone and get the help you needed for your PTSD. He convinced me and Draco to attend a magical therapy group and get the help we desperately needed. I was falling apart at the seams thinking I would have to continue fighting for the rest of my life.”

“That must have been hard… it's the only thing you’ve thought you want to do since Hogwarts.” Her voice quivered a little from the butterflies.

Harry put his arm back around her shoulders, his emotions all over the place. He knew in that moment that he wanted so much more than best friends with Hermione. He took a deep breath and focused on the conversation. “It was the easiest decision to make in my life. I walked into Auror Grant’s office and handed in my trainee badge and said ‘I’m done’. Everyone in the office was disappointed but suddenly it was like a weight was gone. We fought a big bad and now they get to do the rest.”

“I took the rest of the year off because I was a right mess when I started therapy…” he shook his head at himself.

“I was the worst patient ever, Harry. I would go from screaming to crying to not talking to feeling ever feeling so hard that I caused magical outbursts.”

“I’ll one-up you. I didn’t talk for the first two sessions. I never knew how unnerving silence was. Dr. Lisa powered through it and let me take my time. So I spent the next few months going to therapy and lazing about. I watched so many movies but that got old really quickly. I knew I needed to do something with my life. So I helped Sirius research his and eventually my family’s origins and charities. Sirius started the Black Foundation and I decided to go to college.”

“I was super proud of you when I read that in your letter. The best way to move forward when you don't know what to do with your life: get more education, or in my case buy a bookstore.”

They laughed.

“That’s how I felt, I didn't know what I wanted to do so why not learn more?” Harry sighed. “It was fun. I got to just be Harry at school, well as much as I could get away from the fame. Most students treated me like normal, especially in my muggle classes. I worked on the War Memorial as a project in Junior year and the idea for the Foundation grew from there. I get to use my name and fame for doing good. So ever since we graduated in December I have been building out the foundation with Tonks. The five year anniversary was the first Potter Foundation event.”

Harry regaled her with the tales of the day and evening events the week before and the memorial project. Talking to Hermione was like a breath of fresh air to Harry -- their banter was so easy going and even after all this time everything felt so right.

They eventually stopped talking and sat under the stars in silence, the only noise was the cracking of the fire.

~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed that, longest chapter to date and so much happened! Have a great weekend!


	9. Chapter 9 - Early S'mores & Cousin Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wishing the wonderful Hermione Granger a happy 41st birthday! Here's a chapter to celebrate our favorite bookwyrm! Hope you enjoy it!!!
> 
> So many thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 9

Hermione woke up suddenly, not knowing where she was. She opened her eyes and her body screamed at her for staying in the same position all night. Harry’s arm was over her shoulder and held her close to his side and her head was resting on his shoulder. Hermione didn't want to move so she looked out at the trees surrounding the fire ring and listened to the birds greet the morning.

Unbeknownst to Hermione, Harry too was awake and did not want to move. This was the perfect morning and Harry did not care that his back was aching. He continued to sit there listening to the sounds of nature around him with Hermione by his side.

Hermione lifted her head and wandlessly summoned the water bottle from the other side of the fire pit to her hand and took a long sip from it. She sat it down and put her head back on Harry’s shoulder and let out a contented sigh.

“Good morning, Hermione.”

“Morning, Harry.”

A robin landed on the blanket and stole a chip piece that had fallen on the blanket. Harry smiled as the bird flew towards the trees, “Hey, little bird.”

Suddenly the silence was broken by the kitchen door opening. “Daddy, he isn't in the house, I am gonna to check outside!” Teddy ran out the door of the Burrow, “Harry!” He screamed into the quiet morning.

“Well so much for the silence, the missile that is Teddy will be here shortly.”

Hermione laughed, “He is a force to be reckoned with.” She raised her arms over her head, yawning. 

Harry watched her phoenix snake around her arm as it breathed fire, hearts, and lightning bolts towards her fingertips. “Your journals do not do this tattoo justice. You’re going to have to tell me more about it later.”

“Maybe another night by the fire!”

Harry grinned at her, nodding in agreement, “Over here little man.” He stood up and waved at Teddy who was searching around the garden for him. Teddy’s eyes lit up with excitement as he saw Harry.

Teddy flew into Harry’s outstretched arms. “Mummy said that I can come sleepover at the Manor on Daddy’s Wolfie night. If you say it's okay. Is it okay Harry?”

Harry set his godson down, who danced in place with excitement. “Of course Little Lupin I love having you over on Wolfie nights. We will put on a movie and make some ravioli this time. That fettucini we made last month was pretty great.” He stepped back and held his hand to help Hermione stand up.

“Nee Nee.” Teddy jumped into her arms next and Hermione spun him around in circles. Teddy had decided the night before that Nee Nee was her nickname because Hermione was too much to say for the five-year-old ball of energy.

“Good morning, my favorite Teddy Bear.” Hermione sat him down and kissed the top of his head.

“Nee Nee, I am not a bear.”

“Since I am your Nee Nee, you are my Teddy Bear.”

Teddy grinned at her, “I guess that's okay. Sleepovers at Harry’s house is so much fun, you should come too.” Teddy turned to Harry but his eyes fell on the s’mores stuff on the bench. 

With a stern look on his face and a hand on his hip, Teddy stared down his godfather, “Harry you said we can’t have s’mores for breakfast unless we are camping.”

Harry laughed, “Technically we were camping since Hermione and I fell asleep by the fire. So by the rules, Little Lupin, we can eat s'mores for breakfast.”

Teddy jumped up and down, “Yes!” and the fire roared to life. 

“Careful Teddy,” Harry ruffled his hair. Teddy had been having more and more bouts of accidental magic. Tonks and Remus were working with him on controlling his excitement since it seemed to be his trigger.

Remus walked over the hill and saw a fire roar to life. “What is going on over here?”

Harry laughed as Remus schooled his face at serious Teddy. “Daddy, Harry was camping so we get to make s’mores and I am a Bear.” He roared loudly.

“Rules are rules.” Harry handed Teddy a roasting stick with a shrug.

“Well, I guess it's s’mores appetizers for breakfast then.” Remus sat down on the bench and asked Hermione, “do you know why he is a bear now?”

“Well since Teddy insists on me having a nickname, he will have one too.”

“That's a good nickname, so now my wife has a Wolf and a Bear. Pass me the chocolate.”

Hermione unwrapped more graham crackers and started crushing chips, Remus raised an eyebrow, “Trust me, Remus, it’s amazing.”

Harry grabbed Teddy’s stick before he could put the marshmallows directly in the flames. “You have to hold it over the flame, don’t touch it.”

“Oh yeah… Daddy doesn't like BURNT ones like I do.” Teddy tried to stand as still as Harry was. “Daddy, I am not going to burn your marshmallow.”

“Sounds good, son.”

They finished browning their marshmallows and brought them to the blanket. Teddy sat down patiently and waited for his dad to hand him his s’more. “Daddy, Nee Nee is going to join me and Harry at the slumber party on your Wolfie day.”.

“That sounds like a lot of fun son.” Remus handed Teddy his s’more. Teddy jumped up and started eating his s’more, getting chocolate and marshmallow over his face. 

Harry sat down next to Hermione and grabbed his impromptu meal. “Breakfast of champions, I say.”

“I am so glad that you camped last night.” Teddy danced on his tiptoes as he savored his s’more. He popped the rest in his mouth and spun around in circles. 

Harry wondered how he could eat, spin, and not throw all of it up at the same time.

Remus raised his eyebrow at Harry and his eyes darted to Hermione. 

“Hey, LIttle Lupin, since we are done with our breakfast, can you help me clean up real quick?” Harry jumped up from where he was sitting.

Teddy nodded enthusiastically and together they quickly gathered all of the items around the fire pit. Remus and Hermione finished their treat. 

“Grammy was making bacon when we came out here. I bet it's done.” Teddy grinned at Harry, “Harry, race you back in 3… 2… 1… GO.” All came out in one breath as Teddy took off towards the house with Harry hot on his heels.

Remus laughed and grabbed the s’mores kit from the bench as Hermione picked up the blanket. 

As they followed the boys back, Remus added, “Well, guess he has claimed you as his own.”

“He has always had me.” She said offhandedly, but then her mind finally caught up with her and realized that Remus meant Teddy, a blush crept on her face, “Yeah, my little shadow. He is a sweet boy.”

“I guess you get to take part in their cooking adventures on sleepover night. Teddy loves to cook and wants to learn more about it. But five-year-old Teddy is a force to be reckoned with in all areas of life and Harry is way more talented than we are in the kitchen. I am thankful that Harry loves cooking with him.”

“It should be a lot of fun,” she said as they walked into the Burrow.

“What is this I hear about camping and s’mores?” Tonks pointed her fork at her husband.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After breakfast, Hermione said goodbye to the family that was still there. She gave Harry an extra hug as she was leaving and promised to see him the next day.

Hermione was going to Longbottom Manor to visit with Neville and Hannah at noon. They were not able to attend the party since Hannah was on house-rest until their babies were born.

“Remember make sure you try some of those cookies. They are to die for, girl,” Sirius said as they walked out of the floo. 

“I will and I will try to bring you back some.” She walked up the stairs, feeling so much happier than she had in a long time.

An hour and a shower later, Hermione was sitting in her room pulling her thoughts together. The correspondence she had with Neville the week before had been so warm and welcoming. He shared with her that he knew very little about the Harwood side of the family and was excited to get to learn more about them through their journals.

The Harwood and Longbottom families were a whole new world for her to explore and get to know. She could not get over the fact that she had a cousin. Her parents had been only children and their parents had passed away before she was born.

Hermione had been intimidated by the inheritance and all of the stipulations that came with it. Everything from the title to a Duchy to a Wizgnamont seat. Draco had scheduled their meeting with the goblins to discuss the inheritance for next day and she wanted to avoid thinking about all of that because it was overwhelming.

She looked at the clock and realized it was close to noon. She quickly got dressed and walked downstairs and to the floo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hannah was over being pregnant -- she could hardly walk more than thirty steps around the house without getting winded. She looked at the clock and yelled, “Love, Hermione will be here soon, you need to finish watering the plants and get in here.”

“Hi, Hannah,” Hermione peeked her head out of the floo room, “Sorry I’m early.”

“Well, speaking of our Cousin.” She waved for Hermione to come in. “No worries about being early, as long as you know we always run late.” 

Hannah was having none of the hesitancy or awkward first meetings. She gave Hermione a side hug. Hannah laughed as one of the babies kicked at Hermione. “They usually only kick for Neville. So they must know that you are their Auntie.” She caressed her stomach.

That term auntie made Hermione smile and feel less awkward when Hannah grabbed her hand and put it on her belly. Another foot or arm pushed against her and she smiled.

Neville came into the room, he had obviously run from wherever he was to the foyer. “I asked Joa to take care of the rest of the watering…” He stopped when he saw Hermione, “Hey, Hermione.”

Hermione smiled at him, “Hey Neville,” she moved to hug him, kind of choked up at the moment. The more that she talked to Neville over letters the week before, the more and more she knew that they were kindred spirits.

Hannah’s emotions were all over the place, her babies had responded to Hermione instantly. They only kicked when Neville was close to her. She met her husband’s eyes as he hugged his cousin and the look on his face made her tear up. Damn the hormones. Neville motioned for her to join them. She joined and a baby kicked at her side another time.

Hannah wiped the tears from her eyes and spoke to her belly at the kicking babies, “Quiet down little ones.”

“They get very excited, my girls are going to Chasers or Beaters,” Neville said as they made their way to the living room.

Hannah sighed, “You know we don't know if they are boys or girls or one of each.”

As large as Hermione knew this manor must have been, it had a very homey and welcoming atmosphere. She understood why Draco equated walking into their house to hugging your best friend. The foyer was filled with multi-color fragrant roses on almost every surface, very fitting for the herbology expert. She could smell something that must have been baked earlier that morning, a hint of cinnamon and chocolate. The smells alone made her hungry.

They walked from the foyer to the informal living room at the back of the house. Unlike the formal parlors they had passed, this space looked lived in. It reminded Hermione of a mix between a muggle living room and a common room at Hogwarts. 

Hermione was drawn to the wall on the left as they entered. The first part of the wall was filled with photographs of Neville and Hannah as a couple. There were the obligatory baby pictures, Neville grinning as he held a rose to the camera and Hannah dancing around a room in a tutu. There were a lot of pictures from their time at Hogwarts and graduation. Hermione laughed at the moving picture from what must have been their engagement party at the twins shop, it kept repeating when Neville was pied in the face by Fred. The bottom of the wall had a mural of pictures from their wedding, their smiles shone throughout the pictures from their day.

Her eyes moved to the right of the right of couple pictures to where they had the word family written in large script with a gold box surrounding the two rows of frames. The first row had a picture of Neville and Hannah from their wedding day, two ultrasound pictures of the twins, a picture of Hermione standing outside of the Hidden Codex. Sirius had taken that picture after she reopened the shop.

“You put my picture up. How did you get that one?” Hermione exclaimed.

“Sirius gave it to us. And you see what it says up there” Neville pointed to the script, “you are our family Hermione. And below that is the rest of the family that has passed away.” He pointed to the bottom row of pictures that had family group shots and individual pictures of his Gran, Hannah and Neville’s parents.

She was saddened by the destruction the war continued to have on their generation. So many lives taken too early. The group shots were from Abbot, Longbottom, and Harwood family get-togethers from years past. She did a double-take at the Harwood picture zeroing in on the two younger girls sitting in front of their parents. It was like looking into a mirror, she could have sworn that she was standing in that picture taken in the 1960’s. She could see features of herself in both women from her nose to the crazy hair.

“That’s Allison,” Neville pointed to the woman on the right of the picture, “and that is Alice.”

Hermione could not take her eyes off of the sisters.

“She and my mum were fraternal twins but as you can see look almost identical.” He looked at Hermione in awe at the picture. “It is crazy how much you look like them. The genetics are strong with the Harwood line apparently.”

“This is the first picture I’ve seen of her.” Hermione let out the breath she had been holding in. “I guess I have your mum to thank for my crazy hair, it looks like she couldn't tame it either.”

“I found some more pictures for you to look through too.” 

She followed him into the living room where tea had been set on the table. The photo albums were resting beside the tray.

Neville helped Hannah sit down on the couch as an elf popped in the room.

She was dressed in a green sparkly dress. “Good afternoon Miss Hermione, I am Meemy. Winky told me how you like your tea with cream and a cube of sugar, is this correct Miss?” She asked while pouring tea.

“Yes that is right and thank you,” Hermione took the cup of tea and grabbed a cookie from the table. 

Hermione was not the least bit surprised to hear that the elf had done her research on what she preferred, that was the way of the elf. In one of the ‘Dear Hermione’ letters, Harry explained how Winky came to him after the war and asked to work for him. He wrestled with the guilt of Dobby dying to save them and any repercussions that would come from him bonding with her. But in the end, she felt like family to him and had become a very important part of his life. She was instrumental in getting the Potter manor livable again after being neglected for so many years. 

She smelled the cookie and knew this is what she smelled in the foyer and took a bite. “This smells amazing. It’s like a cup of chocolate chai tea.”

Hannah smiled, “That was the intention, glad it turned out good.”

While Meemy handed Hannah her cup of tea, Neville grabbed an assortment of snacks and put it within arms reach of Hannah.

“I ask Alfonso to have a late lunch prepared for you for later.” She said as she handed Neville his tea then popped out of the room.

Hannah noticed that both Neville and Hermione did not know what to say, causing an awkward silence to take over the living room.

Hannah could see so much of the family resemblance between them. “Hey, you two get out of your heads, and please talk. You don't have to say anything earth-shattering or gushy. You two are way more alike than anyone ever gave you credit for, and I have been around you for less than ten minutes.”

“Does she read minds, Neville?”

He let out a loud laugh. “Sometimes I swear she must. And she is way more socially aware than I am. Being an only child raised by my grandmother makes me feel awkward. Well you know from school.”

“I understand that, Neville. Neither of us had other children around the house to learn social cues from. I will take all the mind reading you do if you keep making these cookies for me.” She finished her cookie and grabbed a brownie.

"I humbly accept your adoration." Hannah took a bite of her cookie. "I love to bake and dabbled in the idea of opening a bakeshop after these two were born but all that is up in the air. I like the whole creating desserts but the business part is overwhelming me. Everyone says I would be perfect but," she caressed her belly, " I want to be at home with these two rascals so I don't know."

"My mum and Molly are going to want to steal all of your ideas. They are opening a Sweet Shoppe near the Burrow in Devon and decided at the party last night that they were going to open a storefront at Cibus. And then take over the world, according to a tipsy Sirius after the nightcap scotch.” 

She looked at the brownie in her hand and an idea hit her, “Hannah, I should get you in contact with them. You are obviously very creative and they are good at the business side…" she stopped at the surprised looks on their faces, "Sorry I get way too carried away with ideas."

"Yep you two are definitely related cause this man never gets carried away,” Hannah giggled. “You saw all those flowers out in the foyer, picked just for your visit. And that intro idea sounds amazing if they need the help.” 

Hannah smiled endearingly at Neville, ”See love, nothing to worry about, maybe I can be a recipe tester. You know that that is my favorite part of baking." She rested her head on Neville’s shoulder, “Neville does not want me to lose the things I love doing because of the babies.”

Hermione smiled at the couple. She could see the love pouring off them in droves. They would look at each other and just know what the other was thinking. They looked so happy together. 

“So I hear that you own a famous bookshop in Australia.” Neville started.

The day and night seemed to pass without notice as they looked through the photo albums and caught up on each other's lives.


	10. Chapter 10 - Gringotts and Girl Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey to all my wonderful readers out there in internet land! Hope you had a good weekend! Here is chapter 10!
> 
> Huge shout out to the awesome Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 10

“Hermione time to wake up,” Jean yelled from the hallway.

Jean opened the door and Hermione turned away from the door groaning. She stayed at the Longbottom’s until eleven the night before.

Jean turned on the light. “Up, please.”

“Go away.” Hermione pulled the covers over her head trying to escape her mother. 

Jean climbed onto the other side of the bed. “Oh, Baby girl you won't be able to escape me.” She grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled them off Hermione with a flourish. 

Hermione groaned and opened her eyes and glared at her mother.

“Good morning, sunshine. Draco floo called to remind you about the appointment at the bank.” 

Hermione sighed and sat up.

“Busy day my dear. Get a shower, get dressed and come downstairs. Sirius and I are making breakfast for you.”

“Why do you have to be so bloody chipper in the morning, mum?” Hermione rolled out of bed with a sigh. She saw her bed head and sleepy face in the mirror and turned away to get her shower  
.  
Thirty minutes later a more awake Hermione graced them with her presence. 

“Morning,” Hermione poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe and joined her mother on the barstools by the island.

Sirius passed her a plate with an omelet. “Veggie and bacon.” Sirius added hashbrowns from the platter to her plate, “Crispy just like you like them.” 

“Thanks.” She grabbed a fork and dug into her breakfast.

Edward walked into the room and smiled at Hermione, “Good morning daughter of mine. Guess what we are doing today?” 

He grabbed a cup of coffee.

“Looking at more buildings?”

“Nope,” He added sugar and cream to his cup and leaned against the counter, “we are signing the preliminary contract to purchase the location for Sweet Shoppe at Devon.”

“You found a location already?”

Jean grinned at Hermione. “Yep. Sirius had his realtor looking for the perfect location over the last two weeks. We looked at it yesterday and had to move fast because real estate in Devon is hopping. It’s perfect -- right in the main shopping district and near a beautiful lake.”

“That is great, mum. I hope you will have just as amazing sunsets as you did from the beach.”

“I think so, dear. The second floor will make a beautiful house for us and it’s a blank slate. I want to have the living room face the lake so we can enjoy the view. Hoping to build a deck too.” She finished her plate and took it to the sink and started washing the dishes.

Hermione grinned. “That’s amazing mum. I can't wait to see it. I hope the rainbow motif you had will follow in this one because I can't imagine the Sweet Shoppe without it.” 

“Of course, it has to.” Edward grinned.

“Good! I was wondering if you and dad had plans tomorrow afternoon. Neville wanted to invite you to come to an early dinner.”

“Sounds like a plan Hermione, we cannot wait to meet them,” Jean smiled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco and Hermione flooed to Leaky Cauldron, ten minutes before the meeting. Draco looked very official in his pinstripe suit and tie. 

He handed her a portfolio that was embossed with his law firm’s symbol, a robin in flight. Her name was embroidered into the cover as well.

“With this you are officially a client of mine now. I could not attend the inheritance meeting until you ‘hired’ me as your solicitor for the Harwood inheritance. All of the Lestrange reparation payment stuff was finished last week.”

She nodded. “That sounds good, Draco. I need your help there.”

“The portfolio will always be kept updated by my team with notes, so keep it in a safe place.” 

They walked through the archway into Diagon alley and set off towards Gringotts.

As they entered the bank, her mind was taken back to her first time entering the largest bank in Wizarding England. She had been amazed at the building, fascinated and scared by the goblins all at the same time. As they approached the head teller her mind went to the last time she was there, riding a dragon out of the bank. She held the portfolio tight to her chest and shook her head trying to focus on the meeting ahead.

They stopped at the reception desk and the goblin looked from Hermione to Draco. “Do you have an appointment?”

Draco handed his appointment card to the goblin who turned away and sent a message. A minute later, Director Talonson and a female goblin walked out of the back offices. 

“Good morning, Director Talonson, pleasure seeing you this morning.” The goblin shook his hand. “My client would like to start the preliminary inheritance discussion with the Harwood account manager at this time.”

A female goblin stepped forward and shook Hermione and Draco’s hands. “Good morning Miss Granger, please follow me. I am Arrilyn, the Harwood Account Manager.” She started off towards the elevator. 

“Watch that one, Arrilyn,” the director pointed at Hermione, “she does not leave your side while in this building. You must accompany her to the vaults.” Talonson glared at Hermione.

Hermione had to bite back a laugh - she had defeated them in combat and broke out of their dungeons on dragon back, nothing the Goblins could do would scare her. But she kept that thought to herself.

“That’s about as warm of a welcome as you will ever get,” Draco whispered.

Arrilyn motioned for them to follow her to her office. 

“Please have a seat Ms. Granger. I am your account executive at Gringotts. We are going to go through the inheritance process today. I will start by confirming your identity and then we will go through what all that entails. Do you have any questions before we start?”

“No.” Hermione said, Draco outlined what would happen in this meeting the week before.

Arrilyn pulled an intimidating looking ceremonial knife that's hilt was adored with light blue jewels, “This knife is from the Harwood vault and is used for family rituals. Please take the knife and cut your palm and put blood in the box on this paper.”

Hermione grabbed the page and looked it over. It had her name written across it and a box where she was supposed to put the blood on. She grabbed the knife and cut her palm. It stung a little as droplets of blood pooled on the paper in the box. 

She set the knife down and she quickly healed her hand. She pushed the paper back across the desk.

“Thank you Ms. Granger,” she snapped her fingers and the paper went up in flames, the paper turned light blue and her name turned gold.

Arrilyn smiled at Hermione with a much warmer demeanor, “Hermione Granger, I have confirmed that you are the heir to the Harwood family. Now we can start the inheritance process today.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next three hours, Hermione was thrown literally books and books of information about the Harwood family. Hermione had an eidetic memory and it was even overwhelming for her. 

Draco was taking notes and asking for key pieces of information from Arrilyn. Hermione was eternally grateful for his help because she had no clue what to ask. Draco stopped Arrilyn before she could confirm the acceptance of the inheritance.

Arrilyn looked at them with a curious look, “And why would you want to wait?”

Hermione sighed, “I was adopted into the Granger family, so technically I have two inheritances to choose from. I hoped that I would be given time to review both. This inheritance has some stipulations that may counter that..” 

She did not want to tell the goblin the truth, which was that she was not ready for all that this inheritance entailed right now.

“Let me speak with my superiors and check the family stipulations and I will come back.” She snapped her fingers and a tray of light snacks and tea appeared on the table.

“Nice bull shitting, Hermione.”

Hermione grabbed her tea and sunk into her chair. “Neville gave me a heads up and that was the best I could come up with.” 

She took a long sip from her tea and continued, “Draco, I don't know if I want to accept it… there is a lot that comes with it that quite frankly intimidates the shit out of me. I don't think...”

Draco put his hand on her shoulder, “I get it, Hermione. You don't have to explain it to me. I am just glad you gave her a reason.”

Hermione nodded and grabbed a cucumber tea sandwich from the tray. They sat in almost comfortable silence waiting for the Goblin to return. 

Hermione’s mind continued to go over everything that had been told to her that morning. One of the more important duties of the inheritance was the Wizengamot seat that she had. In order to accept the seat, she would have to take up permanent residence in England. Right now Neville was acting as regent for the seat. She had only been back a few days and already things were moving so quickly. 

Arrilyn walked in with an annoyed look, she sat down at her desk and handed a letter to Hermione, “Normally we would say no. However, after reading the will of Allison Harwood you do have the option of waiting. Miss Granger, you will have six months to make a decision. If you do not make a choice, the will states that all will go to Neville Longbottom.”

Hermione nodded, “I understand.”

“You will be assessed an administrative fee of one-hundred gallons for us to hold this process for six months.”

“I will have the money sent to Gringotts this afternoon. My client appreciates the time to make informed decisions. What will she have access to for the next six months?”

Arrilyn pulled out an additional paper with the details. “She would be given access to the records, lands, and documents today. Vault access will be restricted. As the Director advised, I will need to accompany Miss Granger to the vault. Nothing can be removed from the bank until you formally accept it.” She handed a stack of papers to Draco.

“Thank you for your help, Arrilyn.”

They left Arrilyn’s office and Hermione felt like a zombie as she walked through Gringotts towards the Floo exit. 

She was overwhelmed by the amount of information and grateful to be given time to digest everything. Draco took all of the official documents back to his office for safekeeping and he would add copies of everything into her portfolio. She also asked him to provide copies to Neville since he offered to help her look over the family documents. 

Hermione flooed back to Grimmauld Place. She appeared in the entry room of Grimmauld Place to silence. She walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge looking for a snack. 

“This all feels like too much right now…” Hermione admitted out loud for the first time.

“If it wasn’t overwhelming I would be surprised,” Hermione spun around and saw Ginny standing in the living room. 

Ginny pointed at the plate of desserts on the coffee table. “Didn't mean to scare you, Hermione. Mum wanted me to drop off some food for you guys to eat from the party. She has too much and it looks like Sirius has not been to the store.”

“Thanks, Ginny.”

“Come sit with me and take a load off,” Ginny sat back down on the couch with a cookie in her hand. 

Hermione walked into the living room and grabbed a red velvet cookie and sat down on the other side of the couch. “In the span of two weeks Gin… I am back in England, heiress to a crazy amount of shit. I fit right back into the world I left and it feels so right and yet so different and ah--”

“I need to not think about the enormity of everything.” Hermione threw her hands up, “please distract me and tell me everything about your Mister Malfoy.” She took a bite of her cookie.

“Oh you wanna talk boy talk I am your girl.” She laughed.

Hermione sat up and reached for Ginny’s left hand. “We have to start with this,” she looked at the ring that Draco had the pair to. It was rose gold and had a robin in flight carved into it. There was a constellation carved into the ring with holes left for the stars. 

“Draco showed me his ring when I got nosey about it. He told me yours was even better than his and he was right.”

“Oh, I just love my ring and my fiance even more. To tell you the truth girl, when he walked into my Britain Muggle History class, I was expecting the worst from him. We were, of course, paired together on the first project of the semester and he shocked me. He was a perfect gentleman the entire time, he never sneered at me and seemed to genuinely want to learn. We continued to work on projects together and even took a lot of the same classes in the beginning.”

“Remind me again, what did you get your degree in?”

“I got my degree in Education and Mastery in Charms. Luna and I, with the help of the Potter foundation, are going to start a primary school. I am so excited, we broke ground on the facility last month. Hope to get it all staffed up next year.”

Hermione had learned some of this in Harry’s ‘Dear Hermione’ letters. Seeing the passion in her friend’s eyes was even better. “Finally someone is bringing the pre-Hogwarts magical education into this century.”

“It has been a struggle but we are moving forward. Andromeda has been our bloody champion. She joined our adventure while we were still in school. Early on she started working on the plan to introduce the magical community to muggle-born students. She knew that that would take the longest to get approved by the Ministry.”

“How long did it take?”

“Too damn long. It was the thing that was keeping us from opening. We told the Ministry that we would not open the school unless we were allowed to bring the muggle-born students in as well. We need proper education for all kids in the magical community.”

“That is going to be amazing Ginny, are you going to get the parents involved too?”

She nodded, “Yes, we are going to offer classes for them. It's important that parents don't feel like they are leaving their children and are welcomed in the Magical world. We need to keep our people in England.”

“Here, here. I am grateful for your parents taking mine in when we were at school. They felt so isolated from me and had it not been for them, it would have made things so much more difficult.”

Ginny got up from the couch and started making tea for the two of them. “It is going to be a fun adventure. I am thankful that Draco is by my side through this because planning a wedding and opening the school, it’s been a mess.”

“So do tell, how did you two start dating? It sounds like you were friends,” Hermione asked as Ginny sat back down with two cups of tea.

“Oh Harry, the noisy ninny that he is could not keep his nose out of our business.” She shook her head, “I am grateful for it, don't get me wrong, but still. Neither one of us would make the first move, so he met us for our weekly study session and promptly left before dinner. He sent an owl with a note that said, ‘this is your first date, enjoy dinner on me’.”

Hermione was shocked by that, he had not said anything about that in his letters. “Well, that was ballsy of him.”

“I am glad for it. It would have taken us so much longer to finally make a move, had he not done it. We talked and talked all night. And well, fast forward and now we are here.” She wiggled her left hand.

Ginny dipped her cookie in her tea and continued. “Speaking of… I am really glad you are home because I wanted to ask if you would be a bridesmaid at my wedding? I have had a spot saved in the hopes that you would come back.”

“Hermione, after the shit that I went through my first year, I was ostracized and you helped me so much that summer and next school year. And even though I have not seen you in way too long, you are my sister. I cannot imagine the day without you there.”

Hermione silenced her friend’s babbling and hugged her. “I would be honored, Ginny. So pull out that binder I know you have in your pocket and show me everything.”

~~~~~ END OF CHAPTER ~~~~~~~~


	11. Chapter 11 - More than just friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday!!!! I hope you enjoy the chapter!!!
> 
> Huge shoutout to my amazing alpha Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help :)!! Decide I can't just leave you with chapter 22, so I am writing at least 4 more chaps of fun!!! I cannot thank my beta The Muse of Apollo enough, so much help with my punctuation game!

Chapter 11

Sunday morning Harry was up early. He felt on top of the world and had so much energy to spare. After breakfast at Potter manor he owled Remus to see if he could spend some time with Teddy. Remus graciously accepted that offer, he did everytime, and Harry took Teddy to the park to play. After an afternoon of adventure and play, Harry walked back into the Lupin house carrying a sleepy boy in his arms. 

“I think I will join you for a nap, little man,” Tonks said as she took Teddy from Harry’s arms. “Thanks for tiring out my boy, Harry.”

“Love you, Harry,” Teddy said as he snuggled into her chest.

“Love you too, kiddo.”

Tonks walked up the stairs and Harry sat down at the table. He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher.

“You hungry, Harry?” Remus asked as he started making turkey and ham sandwiches.

“Yes please, that kid wore me out. We played pirates, then cowboys, then the ground was lava, freeze tag and ended helping people at the community garden. He got to pick some raspberries for Clara and she let him eat some -- a highlight apparently.” 

Remus laughed as he placed a plate in front of Harry and one down for himself.

Harry took a bite of the sandwich and sighed. “Is this that smoked turkey from the deli at Cubis?”

“Yes, it's our favorite thing now. Sandwiches seem to be the only thing the boy is up for eating everyday and it's an easy meal. I also got some buffalo chicken and pepper turkey. I’m surprised he was not hungry when you got back.”

“Tonks gave me snacks to feed him while we were playing.” Harry pulled the shrunken down lunch bag from his pocket and tossed it towards the sink.

“Smart wife of mine. Thanks for tiring out the kid today, he has been bouncing off the walls ever since the party. He won't stop talking about how much fun it was. But man the energy that kid has is exhausting. And then just like that” he snapped, “his energy is gone. So camping with Hermione on Friday?”

Harry’s sandwich created a lump in his throat as he tried to find the words to tell Remus about the day and night that he spent with Hermione. He set his sandwich down and stared at his plate trying to form the words. Remus grabbed a bag of crisps and poured some on their plates. Harry put some on his sandwich and took a bite. 

Harry was ever grateful that Remus gave him space to gather his thoughts before talking about something so emotionally charged. Over the years, Harry confided in Remus because they thought alike and approached problems the same way.

Harry looked at Remus and sighed. “Moony, I don't know where to start. We went outside after everyone left to go to sleep. We made some s’mores and we talked about her journal and my letters.”

“She wrote a journal?” Remus raised his eyebrow.

“Yes, so like my letters, she wrote in a journal a few times a week for the last four years. She sent it to me. After I read the first page, I sent the letters to her last week. The journals made me feel like I was there with her.”

Harry smashed a chip into his plate. “I told her that I had been angry and hurt that she had not come back.” He paused, “I didn’t think I would do that to her. But I think she needed to know that and I told her that me finally understanding why she stayed gone was a huge moment in my recovery. Ron said it very eloquently when we were at lunch that he was glad she stayed gone because he needed to stand on his own. I needed to do the same and had to grow up a lot.”

“This time gave all of you a chance to grow up and become comfortable in your own skins. You were the trio for so long, you needed to be individual people. I am very glad that you sent those letters to her before she came. It sounds like her journals and your letters helped you two to be on the same footing.”

Remus had been the only person in the family that knew that Harry was writing his ‘Dear Hermione’ letters. When things would get rough, sad, or too much for Harry, Remus reminded him to write it down so he could show it to Hermione later.

Harry nodded. “it also gave me comfort that I was never far from her thoughts. And that the sadness was not one-sided--”

Harry got up from the table and walked to the fridge trying to get his thoughts together. He opened it and grabbed two cans of soda. He placed one in front of Remus and sat down.

“Remus it's a bit scary how it felt completely normal.” Harry had the biggest smile on his face. When she was in my arms in Diagon Alley, I just knew that feeling I had was right. She is so much more to me than just my best friend. I think the attraction is not one-sided either…” Harry felt a bit bashful admitting that. Harry continued to tell Remus about their meeting in Diagon Alley and their cooking adventure.

“Sounds like you made some overtures to her and she welcomed them. Isn’t that what you had hoped for Harry?”

Harry knew Remus would bring that up. He told Remus last week that he realized that his feelings towards Hermione and her coming back were a jumbled mess. He didn’t just want to go back to being her best friend, he wanted more. He knew deep down that she was the missing piece from this life that he had created.

“Yes it is, it's everything that I wanted. But, I am scared if she leaves Remus. My heart could not take losing her again so soon after she came back into my life.” Harry’s face dropped.

“No spiraling Harry,” Remus said loud to get Harry’s attention, “Remember you said you forgave her for leaving so don't hold yourself in the fear that it could happen again. Thinking about what if’s will ruin everything. She probably wants to come back but is scared. Give her a reason to stay?”

“She told me something in Diagon Alley that gave me the confidence to be more forward with my feelings. She told me to never let her go Remus--”

Harry met Remus eyes and with conviction said, “I don't plan on ever letting her go and you’re right I won't just sit by. I need to take a chance.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry flooed over to Grimmauld Place after his talk with Remus. He wanted to see Hermione and hoped she would be home. As he exited the entrance hall, he heard two girls laughing from the living room.

“Hello, wonderful ladies,” Harry announced himself as he walked into the living room.

Hermione’s heart fluttered at the baritone in his voice. She turned around and met his eyes. She bit her lip trying to tamp down the butterflies that invaded her stomach when he winked at her.

“So what are my two favorite ladies doing today?” He sat down next to Hermione on the couch and saw the wedding planner laid out. “Ginny are you putting this girl to work right away?”

“You know Hermione, she wanted to help. I couldn’t say no to my newest bridesmaid wanting to help me. Plus you know that this means she will be staying for at least two months since she is in my wedding. In that time you know we can convince her to stay.” Ginny handed Harry a cookie.

“Yes we can.” Harry didn’t even want to think about the possibility of Hermione leaving. It made him upset to even think about. She had to stay, she just had to. 

“Scheming already I see." Hermione poked his side. 

Harry’s seeker reflexes kicked in and he grabbed her hand before she could poke him a second time and kept a hold of her hand. “Since before you came home, actually.”

Hermione tried to tamp down the shiver at his touch, so she changed subjects quickly. “I haven't gotten to be a part of the plans up till now, so you know I am going to help with all these last-minute ones.”

Harry shook his head. “Only you Hermione would be excited to help plan something.” He let go of her hand and put his arm on the back of the couch. He rested his fingertips on her shoulder, he felt her take in a deep breath. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No thank you Harry. The last time you tried to help you messed up my table seatings. I thought Draco was going to kill you. Plus, we pretty much finalized everything. Now it’s just picking up things as we get closer. Getting this girl a dress.” 

Ginny grinned, “I am sensing a girl’s day shopping trip. Oh, we can combine it with my dress fitting in two weeks.” Ginny closed the binder.

“So much work Gin. I don't know why you do it. I’d probably just elope.” Harry laughed.

Hermione nodded, “Me too, this whole thing is way too much attention.”

Ginny shrugged her shoulders. “Oh you two. I do agree it is very overwhelming and I am grateful for Fleur and Mom because this would be way too much. Draco’s mom always wanted him to have a big wedding so we are honoring her wishes. I am so excited for the big shindig but will be glad when it is over.'' She put the folder into her purse.

Harry asked Hermione, “So what are your plans for the evening?”

Hermione shrugged, “Was going to make an early dinner and then maybe watch a movie. I think I am going to turn in early tonight, I was up late last night hanging out with Neville and Hannah.”

“That must have been a lot of fun, Hermione. Hannah and I have gotten so much closer and she is one of my favorite people.” Ginny smiled.

Hermione accioed a box to her. “I can see why. She sent me home with some desserts if you guys want some.” She passed each of them a treat from the box and sent it back to the hiding place. 

“I am going to introduce my mum and dad to her because she would make a wonderful addition to the Sweet Shoppe.”

Harry took a bite of the brownie. “Hope that that works out, it would be great to have a place I could go buy her desserts whenever I wanted them. Whenever I go over there, she always sends me home with desserts but they typically don't last very long given how good they are. Did it feel any different meeting Neville as your cousin, rather than a friend from Hogwarts?”

Hermione nodded. “Yeah, it felt different. It was a bit awkward at first but that quickly faded, with the extrovert Hannah’s help of course. When I saw my picture up on their family wall, next to the twins ultrasound pictures, it really hit home that they were my family too.” She paused, “its weird how that one small action made me feel like I truly belonged there.”

“It was like when Molly added me and you to their family clock.” Harry patted Hermione’s arm.

Hermione grinned at him. “Yes, exactly like that Harry. LIke I am a permanent part of this family. My parents don't have any siblings, so I never had any cousins or close family. So this was a new and really welcomed experience.”

“Gosh that idea feels so foregin to me, you two.” Ginny shook her head. “I have never known anything but being completely surrounded by family, to the point of suffocation. I get annoyed at everyone and just want space. I never really appreciated it until Harry and I were talking about why Draco acted so closed off to the family. I would get so frustrated, because he would go from talking to me to being stone faced in an instant around the family. That talk made me realize all that I did have. Helped me to be more patient with Draco too; I stopped just expecting him to get along and helped him. I know I am extremely lucky to grow up with my family.”

“I am lucky I got to grow up with them too, Ginny.” Harry smiled at her.

Ginny’s phone started ringing, she looked down and saw it was Draco. “Draco has five minutes to talk before his next meeting. I am going to go talk to him real quick.” She jumped up from the couch and headed upstairs.

“Have fun Ginny, tell him we said hi,” Hermione leaned into Harry’s side. “Harry, they had pictures of the Abbot, Longbottom, and Harwood families up on the family wall as well. The Harwood shot looked like it was taken in the early sixties, it was a very stately shot of the family, everyone was stiff as boards with no smiles. It was my first time seeing a picture of Allison. It was really uncanny how alike she and I and Alice are. I got my crazy hair from Alice and I get why she cut it so short in that Order picture we saw at Grimmauld place. I got to see even more pictures of them since Neville found some photo albums. It really was a great night with them.”

“Sounds like it was a charthic evening.” Harry said.

“It really was. Tomorrow, my mum and dad are going to meet them. I am excited but weirdly I am more nervous about this than I was about going over there. It’s like my mum and dad are meeting some of my biological family. This whole thing is...” Hermione tried to think of the right words.

“Amazing and terrifying at the same time,” Harry completed for her.

Hermione sat up and turned towards him, “Yes. And I am just going with the flow. You know me super chill Hermione.” in the moment she said that she instantly regretted it. She could tell she was trying too damn hard to be something she was not.

“You must have worked on doing just that with your therapist didn’t you?” Harry grinned knowing that just letting things go with the flow was the opposite of her personality.

“Merlin, yes, that’s why I distract myself… so wanna help?” She looked at him and blushed at the intense look on his face.

She gave Harry the perfect opportunity to take the leap, “Maybe Friday I can take you to dinner to distract you?”

Hermione stopped and stared at him, trying to convince herself that she heard him right. The teenage Hermione always dreamed that this would happen. But this was not a fantasy, Harry had just asked her out. She felt like they were on edge of a precipice. Could it hurt to take a leap? Her brain countered what if things didn’t work? She just got Harry back in her life could this ruin everything? But her heart was screaming to say yes.

Harry sat there trying not to look too nervous. He knew she needed time to process what he had just asked.

She took a steadying breath and asked, “As?”

“More than just friends. We are in uncharted territory here but I would like to take the leap with you.”

“Yes, I would too.” Hermione let out a breath she had been holding and bit her lip in nervousness.

“Hey trouble makers, what are we going to do for dinner?” Ginny interrupted the moment walking back into the room.

Harry winked at Hermione and stood up. He offered her his hand to help her up.

“I thought we could make the Sweet Shoppe famous grilled cheese. Sirius got all the ingredients because he is addicted to it.”

The evening was spent in the best way possible: good friends and grilled cheese.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione rolled away from the bright light streaming through her window. She peeked at the clock and saw that it was now after one o’ clock in the afternoon. Considering she was up until after midnight, it felt so good to sleep in until her body naturally woke her up. Lazy mornings were Hermione’s favorite thing. 

She got up and grabbed her favorite novel from the bookshelf and headed to the bathroom. She filled the soaking tub with hot water and dropped in a citrus bubble bath bomb. She got in the water and got lost in the world of Valdemar and Heralds. 

Time always passed by too quickly when she was buried in a good book. She looked up at the clock and saw that an hour had passed. She quickly washed her hair and body. She had thirty minutes to get dressed and meet her parents at Longbottom Manor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Hermione, your parents got here early.” Neville met her in the foyer. 

“Hey, Cuz,” She gave him a quick hug. “we have a problem. If we are not early then we are late. My mum is the worst.”

Neville smiled at the term of endearment and they walked to the living room where Hannah was waddling around trying to serve drinks and snacks to her parents.

Hermione watched as Meemy reprimanded Hannah. “Mistress, I told you to let me handle giving out drinks. Talila is going to help. Sit down please, the babies.” 

“Hi everyone, I see I am late already.”

Jean raised her glass with a grin. “Or we were terribly early. Sorry, Hannah.”

“Maybe some of your early bird tendencies will rub off on us and it's okay.” Hannah crossed her hands over her chest as the elf took the tray of drinks and started handing them out.

“Come on dear, have a seat and let Meemy hand out the drinks,” Neville grinned at the glower she shot in his direction.

A different house elf appeared by Hermione’s side with a drink in her hand. “Good afternoon Miss Hermione. I am Talila. Mistress Hannah said that you like beer.” Hermione nodded enthusiastically and took the beer.

Talila continued, “This beer is from the Potter estate and pairs well with the snacks on the table. The rest of the dinner has been paired with beers from other estates.”

“Thank you, Talila.” Her eyes zeroed in on the snack the elf had pointed to. The pretzel bites and cheese were calling her name. She sat down next to Hannah and set down her drink and grabbed a pretzel, dipping it in the cheese before eating it.

“You should take it easy Hannah.”

Hannah shook her head, “you have to be on my side Cuz, because the healer said with twins I am now considered full term. So now it’s about getting these two out whenever they decide to make an appearance.” she looked at Meemy who handed Edward the last glass of beer, “Which is why I was up.”

“That last month was exhausting and we only had one, I can't imagine twins.” Jean said as she moved to the chair closest to Hannah,

Hermione smiled at her mother. She knew that reconciling the memories around her birth and adoption had been rough for Jean. Allison had overlaid her pregnancy memories on to Jean’s. She had all of the memories, feelings, and pain of carrying and birthing Hermione. But technically her body had not given birth. She also had the slew of emotions from her fertility struggle to fostering so many little ones to the joy of adopting Hermione. It had been rough on her mother and Hermione was glad that she had help from the mind healer. She ended up just saying “we” when talking about her pregnancy and Hermione’s birth to honor both her and Allison’s experiences.

“I am ready for this to be done. I want a drink and sushi and to see my feet. But alas my shadows,” she pointed at Meemy and Neville, “there won't let me do anything.”

Neville handed Hannah a glass of sparkling juice, “We keep our girls safe don't we Meems.” 

Meemy proudly smiled at Neville and nodded.

“As you should, that’s your job as daddy,” Edward added, his eyes met Hermione’s.

“I first wanted to start by welcoming everyone to our home,” Neville started. “We are so glad to have you here. I am so happy that in less than a month, my family went from Hannah, the twins, and our elves, to including the three of you.”

“Neville and Hannah, we are so very happy to be here and to welcome you into our family too. Edward and I are forever in Allison’s debt for bringing Hermione into our lives. She is the light of my life and--” she pointed to the wall of pictures, “it is amazing how much she looks like Allison and your mum, Neville.”

“Yes it is a bit uncanny. I have had that picture up for a good two years and always felt like I had met someone who looked like my mum and Aunt. When Draco told us about the family connection, I came back to the picture and it made sense. Sirius gave us that picture of Hermione and you can tell that we are related.”

Hannah added, “I would love to see any baby pictures that you have. I want to see how similar these two looked and would be fun to compare to these two.” she pointed at her belly.

Hermione sighed, “mum has album after album of pictures--”

“Oh shush you, it was my job to document your life. From those baby pictures on that wall, I can say that Neville and Hermione look a lot alike. I'll make sure to bring some by.” Jean grinned.

“Jean, would you mind also bringing us a picture of you and Edward? We wanted to add you two to our wall as well, if you wouldn’t mind.” Neville pointed to the empty frame below Hermione’s picture.

“We would be honored.” Jean squeezed Hannah’s hand.

“Jean was actually talking about doing a wall very similar to yours when we decorate our home above the Sweet Shoppe.” Edward added.

“When I moved into the manor a year before we got married, I didn't like that there were no family pictures anywhere and the manor was devoid of all personality. Devoid is how most pureblood families decorate their homes and it’s stark and very harsh. Nev and I are the complete opposite of that and I made sure that our home shows it.”

“Draco told me that walking into your house felt like a hug.” Hermione smiled. “I wholeheartedly agree with that statement.”

“Draco is such a softy.” Hannah laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner was one of the best to date for the Granger family. Hannad and Alfred, the chef, had outdone themselves with the meal. It was a smorgasbord of German food with small portions of Hannah’s favorites. There were homemade brats with sauerkraut and pork spaetzle with red cabbage. They were introduced to new flavors like Sauerbraten, a sour roast with potato dumplings that was the highlight for Hermione. The beer paired very well with the entire meal. 

They sat down for dessert in the library and everyone at the table was engrossed in their apple bread pudding and lace cookies. 

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Hannah who nodded at her. Hermione tapped on the table to get her parents attention, “Mum, and Dad, now I want to talk to you about the Sweet Shoppe.”

“Yes dear?” Jean grabbed another cookie from the tray in the middle of the table.

“I know that you have not started staffing up the Sweet Shoppe yet. However, I think that you should hire Hannah. She is a masterful chef and experiments with baking and would be a great asset to the team. This dessert is the perfect example of her creativity. I will let Hannah tell you more.”

Hannah stood up from the table and grabbed the stack of binders from behind her. She slapped Neville’s helping hand away and placed the folders in front of Jean and Edward. She set two more to the side that had Black Foundation and Molly’s names written on them.

“Thanks Hermione, I am excited to talk to you guys tonight about the Sweet Shoppe. First, I wanted to go over my qualifications with you. I have been cooking since I was a small child. My mother owned a restaurant in London and I was there everyday before I left for Hogwarts. I learned how to cut an onion before I could write. After I graduated from Hogwarts I apprenticed with a local baker for two years. Since then I have been learning about food from around the world and experimenting with different recipes, flavors, and textures. I have also started experimenting with adding potions or small magics to my cooking.’

She paused to try to slow down her pace. “I had terrible morning sickness so I turned the nasty potion into a cookie that I continue to eat to this day to keep food down.” 

Hannah motioned for them to turn the page, “You will see a few of my favorite and popular recipes.”

“This all looks very professional Hannah and this bread pudding is remarkable. Usually, the dessert is dull and dry. But this is so moist and has a twang to it that I cannot place,” Jean took another bite trying to figure out the flavor.

“I used sour cream, spiced rum, and buttermilk as the liquid base,” Hannah added.

“Ah, it's the rum, it adds that deep flavor.” Jean continued to eat her dessert.

“Everyone tells me I should open a bakeshop but to be honest with you the part I love about baking is experimenting and creating. I can’t see myself running a shop and I know that that is not where my strengths lie.” 

Jean looked at Edward with a smile on her face, unspoken words passing between the two. 

Hannah continued, excited at the look of interest on their faces. “Now, Hermione tells me that you are planning to open at least two shops in our market, one in Devon, which you already have the location and then at the Farmers market in Diagon Alley. I wanted to see if you needed a test kitchen to develop new and exciting recipes.”

“We definitely need to bring someone on to work on the magical development of treats for the Cibus shop and to bring in new exciting recipes to both shops.” Edward said. “I would assume the recipes you have in this notebook are a small portion of the ones you have created.”

Hannah pointed to the shelf closest to them that was filled with cooking books and the top shelf was filled with five large binders, “all the binders are full of recipes and notes. As I am sure you know baking is a science but creating new recipes is an art form so I write down all of my trials so I know what to adjust.”

“Hannah, I agree with Edward that we do need help with the magical development side and someone to lead the way in developing exciting new recipes for the shop. I know we need to check with Molly before we make a formal offer but I am sure that she too would welcome you to the business.”

Hannah was beaming at them, 

Jean reached across the table and put her hand over Hannah’s, “Now, I know how completely chaotic things will be when your babies are born. I don't want you missing out on those moments with them. Please focus on your family for a while right now. The shop will always be there for you and right now it will take us a while to get the doors open.”

“That sounds great to me Jean.” Hannah smiled, “I will make you copies of the recipe binders.” she put her hand on her belly, “I don't really want to be tied down to a schedule because as they get older, their and my needs will change. When Hermione told me about the Sweet Shoppe, it gave me hope that my dream could change for the better.”

“We will have to bring in the Black Foundation lawyers to talk about the legal stuff and how you will be paid from the business. We could do a portion of each recipe sold or a straight cut of the profits from the business. Straight cut of the profits is what the Black Foundation chose for investing in the business.” Edward wrote down a few items on the back page of the folder.

Hannah nodded at Edward, “Whatever we do, I would like my portion to go to the House Elf Business Development project with the Potter Foundation. Neville and I have more than enough to get by and I don't have to work. I want to do this because it is fun and a challenge for me. So you figure out the portion and way that would work best for the business and I am happy that it will go to a cause that I am passionate about.”

Hermione poked into the conversation. “Potter Foundation has a House Elf Business Development project?” 

Hannah laughed. “Yea, it was Harry’s first idea for the Potter Foundation and ended up being the second one that they worked on after the war memorial. He has four elves that have started businesses from it. Another goal of it is to educate the Wizarding population about House Elves. You and Dobby were his inspiration for it. Have you not seen the symbol of the foundation?”

Hermione shook her head. She tried to think back to the Dear Hermione letters and could not remember if he ever mentioned the project. She would have to ask him more about it.

Hannah grabbed her wand and accicoed a pin and handed it to Hermione. “You see its two books and a lily. The books are for you and a lily for his mother. ”

Hermione looked at the beautiful gold pin in her hands. She stayed quiet as they continued talking about the Sweet Shoppe. Harry continued to surprise her. He took inspiration from her. What an honor and absolute surprise that was. Her mind went back to their date on Friday.

Neville tapped Hermione’s shoulder and motioned for them to move to the couch, “Want to leave them to talk Shoppe. I wanted to talk to you about your visit to Gringotts.”

“Ah, yes lets.” Hermione smiled at him, glad for the distraction,

They moved over to the couch across the library. 

Neville grabbed his portfolio and opened it to the Harwood section and showed it to Hermione, “Draco added the Harwood info to my portfolio so that I can help you with the inheritance business.”

“Thank Merlin, I looked back at the notes and I felt like I was reading a foreign language. That meeting at Gringotts was a lot.” She proceeded to tell Neville everything she could remember from the meeting. By the end, she dropped her head in exhaustion.

Neville set the portfolio to the side. “We don't need to solve this now Hermione. You have six months to make a choice. So please don't stress about it yet. Also, Draco is your solicitor and he can take on a lot of the bureaucratic bull for you. He and his team are well worth their retainer.”

“All of the legal stuff was overwhelming and I will gladly take your advice to let Draco handle most of it.”

“Plus, Allison and my mum kept detailed journals that we can read to learn more about their lives. I know there are some here and the rest are probably at Harwood Manor.”

“They wrote journals? Like daily entries and stuff?”

“Yeah, I have read through a few of my mum’s. They gave me a chance to get closer to her, since she is not able to share the stories with me.”

“You know what's cool Neville, I write journals too. I have been doing it since before Hogwarts. My mum needed to find a way for me to collect my thoughts because I would get overwhelmed with so much information. She told me it was a good way to reflect and I have been writing them since I think I was seven. Now it's not so much daily writing, it's usually weekly. If Allison was as detailed as I am maybe I can find clues to who my biological father is from the journals.”

Neville nodded. “I hope we can. So I think it would be best to read both Allison and my mum’s journals together. It will allow me to give you some context from what my Gran told me about the two of them.”

“Neville, I like that idea. But first, answer me this, how can we find anything in this?” she looked around at the shelves near her in their chaotic state. Books were strewn about the library in such a haphazard fashion, “What happened to your library?” she shook her head.

“The Longbottoms are not known for their organization skills. This is the result of many generations of eccentric people’s logic about where books should go and they pseudo organized based on their interests. It overwhelms me to even think about dealing with it. The herbology and cooking books are organized but everything else is well…” he shrugged his shoulders.

Hermione patted him on the shoulder. “Well I think we can do both things, find those journals and I can organize this mess. I am a professional bibliophile.”

“One-hundred and ten percent yes, we want your help, Hermione.” Hannah exclaimed as she joined their conversation.

“Hey you.” Neville looked lovingly at his wife.

“It is time for this lady to go to bed. Anytime you want to come over and deal with this mess we will gladly welcome you! I will make sure you are well fed.”

Hermione stood up and hugged Hannah. “Thank you two for the wonderful night. Now you get some rest, my nieces are exhausting their mum. I’ll come by on Wednesday or Thursday to start working on all of this.” She motioned around.

“See Hannah, Hermione agrees that the twins are girls and she is never wrong.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~


	12. Chapter 12 - Happy Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy almost the weekend!!! I hope that you enjoy the Harmony moments!
> 
> Thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 12

Hermione sat in the middle of the Longbottom library with piles of books as far as the eye could see surrounding her. This was Hermione’s happy place. She had spent the last two days much like the ones before catching up with her friends and exploring new and old places around London. She had just about hit her limit of being around people all of the time. She needed some quiet time and what was better than being surrounded by books in a beautiful library.

She got to the manor after breakfast. Hannah was still asleep so she and Neville drank their morning cuppa joe on the porch listening to the birds. He then gave her a detailed tour of the manor and its grounds. 

When they were done with the tour, Neville went off to the greenhouses to spend the morning with his plants and she to the books. She started by pulling all of the books off the shelves and into large piles around the library. She wrote typical library category sections titles like Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, etc... on pieces of parment. She stuck them to the bookshelves where the books would go.

She then sat in between the piles of books and was slowly going through each of the titles by hand. All of the tension left her body as she buried herself in the written word. This library was massive, it had titles that she had never seen. 

“If this is a normal non-book loving family library, I wonder how Harwood and even Harry’s library is,” she said to herself, adding another book to the Herbology pile. Hermione knew that she would get lost in those libraries for days.

She reached for a small maroon book and turned it over. Monogrammed on the spine was ‘Alice Hogwarts Year 1’. Hermione pumped her fist in the air, this was the first of Allison’s Hogwarts journals and she had already found copies of both girls' pre-Hogwarts journals. She levitated the book to the table with the other journals she had found.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Good morning, well almost afternoon.” Hannah greeted Hermione as she walked into the library. 

Hermione looked up from the books as the wondrous smells from the tray of food Hannah was carrying wafted into her space. “That smells amazing.” 

“Hungry?”

“Yes,” she stood up and looked around and the literary chaos that had spread over almost every surface of the library. “Well I guess I have taken over everything.”

Hannah walked through the path of books to the couch by the fireplace. “Couch breakfast sounds good to me.” 

Hannah set the tray down on the table and maneuvered herself down on the couch. “It’s a freakin production to do anything to these kids inside me.” She let out a contented sigh as she lifted her legs onto the couch.

Hermione grabbed the tray of food and set it in between Hannah and herself.

“I feel much better with my legs up, everything hurts because I’m a whale. So our brunch feast this morning is spicy stuffed french toast with fruit and a spicy hot chocolate.”

Hermione lifted the plate up to her nose and took in a deep breath, taking in the flavors of chilies and bread. “Smells great Hannah, I love spicy foods.”

“I am all about spice right now. I am craving everything Latin flavors - spices, and peppers. Maybe just maybe it will kick these two out of their residence.” 

Hermione took a bite of the french toast, the ground meat, peppers, and cheese fell out of the inside and her taste buds exploded with flavor and spice. “Wow, that is good.” Hermione exaggeratedly waved her hand at her mouth, “and spicy.”

Meemy popped in the room with two additional drinks and set them on the tray. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks Meemy,” Hannah said with a laugh, Meemy popped out of the room.

“I learned how to make horchata and it seems to be a favorite among all the Elves. As I was making this she was warning me that you may not like spicy food and she was going to make a fresh batch for us. If you can't take the heat, it will cool it down!”

“I like the burn.”

“A girl of my heart and that habanero will build.” She took a bite, “so in the last letter I wrote you before you came back, I think I started telling you about my food journey.”

Hermione nodded as she was digging into breakfast.

“This breakfast is the brainchild of that journey, mashing classic dishes from different cultures together. I didn’t know what I wanted to do after I finished my apprenticeship. So I decided to explore the wonderful world of food and culture. Food has this universal language to it and I wanted to explore that and expand my horizons.” She took another bite.

“I decided to explore a different region of the work every month. Let’s see we started in Europe from Italy to Greece to Ireland and Russia. Then moved to Africa and spent an entire year exploring the food culture there. It is such a vast continent and has such wonderful food. Then we moved to the Middle East and Asia - oh, Iranian taftoon and lavash are killer types of bread. Then we moved to the Americas and had everything from Bralizzilan to Puerto Rican to Mexican to American. Let me say this fried cheese curds fresh from this tiny dairy farm in the middle of nowhere Wisconsin in the States are one of the best things ever.”

Hannah went on to explain over breakfast that she would buy books and books about the culture and food and origins. She didn’t realize how much she was going to learn when she started her culinary journey. She would spend the month reading, watching, and exploring recipes. At the end of the month, some of the Elves, Hannah, and Neville would spend a weekend traveling to that country. These epic food-filled weekends were the highlight. Then Hannah would come back home and host a dinner party for their family with her favorite recipes. She continued this exploration to this day albeit at a much slower pace and no travel.

Through their breakfast, they both tried to keep from using the horchata to dull the spice. Finally, Hermione caved and took a drink about halfway through the dish.

She took her last bite and exaggeratedly wiped her forehead, and finished her horchata. “Wow Hannah, was spicetastic.” 

“I am going to make you my favorites every day you come over for brunch. I am glad to have a partner in food to host dinner parties. After these two are born, I won't have as much time to do all the cooking.” She looked around the library and grinned. “So I see it looks worse in here than it did before, which is always a good sign in my opinion.”

Hermione turned towards Hannah with a huge smile on her face. “Right now I am doing a high-level topic sorting, putting books into their general categories. Then I am going to hand-sort them into subcategories that will correlate to the shelf that they go on. I am so in my happy place, you have so many out of print or special editions of the books that I have never seen before.”

“Oh Hermione, our library is nothing. The Potter library is magnificent,” Hannah said and she saw the glimmer of excitement in Hermione’s eyes.

“I will be lost in books for a very long time.”

“Well do you mind if I join you for the day? I am pretty comfortable sitting here and don't wanna move.”

Hermione grinned, “Your company would be most welcome.”

“Can you pass me the lineage book and the first two journals?”

Hermione handed Hannah the books and went back to the stacks of books. Hannah started reading the family journal out loud.

The Harwood family was a long line of good wizards and witches. The bulk of the family wealth came from a husband and wife team who was a healer and potions master. They helped to create smallpox vaccines that were used in the Wizarding World in the eighteenth century to protect against the deadly threat that was decimating the Wizarding population. The husband and wife went on to work with Muggle doctors and scientists to develop the muggle vaccine as well. Their family received royalties on every vaccine that was given out which accounted for the large fortune and power that the family had.

As the day went on, Hannah would switch between the girl’s journals to get the world from both girl’s perspectives. They had an opulent family life as they were the only children born to the couple. Allison wrote a lot about the family’s history and things she wanted to learn about and was very procedural, it reminded her a lot of Hermione. While Alice’s journals were filled with stories and fun things that the family did. 

As they read on, Hermione made an observation that Alice may have been jealous of the life-path given to her sister, as the heir to the household. Allison had to learn how to manage the family fortune, participate in the Wizgnamont, and do a host of other things that the leader of the family did. Alice’s only goal in life was to be a good witch and find a man. Hermione surmised that this was probably why she was so driven to become an Auror - she wanted her own path.

Alice wrote many times during their childhood that she found it confusing that Allison had all the responsibility but they were only three minutes apart. Alice was a free-spirit while her sister was very serious. Allison had been determined to learn everything she could about the world while Alice loved just being. 

Hannah laughed when she read that observation, “Wonder where Hermione got her zealousness for learning with your upbringing, your super-intelligent parents, and Allison’s genetics.”

Hermione grinned, levitating another book into a pile across the room. She was about a fourth of the way through the piles of books. She stopped a few hours after lunch.

“So I think I can easily get this done in a few days. There are so many great books here.” She spun around looking at all of the progress she made. Hermione felt so accomplished.

Neville laughed, “I bet you have a list of books you want to dive into don’t you?”

“Oh, the have-to-read list is about a page long but oh there are so many more I want to read if I have the time. Hannah, I would welcome your wonderful storytelling from the journals for as long as you want to. It was a very enjoyable way to spend the day.”

“I cannot do anything else than sit until these two are born, you got me, girl. This has given me a great look into Allison and Alice and an important part of our lineage,” Hannah added.

“Well you two, I will leave you two your evening. I am going to spend the evening with Sirius.” Hermione gave them each a hug and made her way to the floo.

Hannah rested her head on Neville’s shoulder. “Love, I had so much fun today. Hermione is going to join me with the Food Journey next month and host the dinner party after the twins are born. I am so happy for this journey.” 

She teared up a bit, “Oh these hormones, I am so glad that she is in our and our twin’s lives.” 

Neville ran his hand up and down her back and wiped the tears from her cheek. “Oh Hannah, I am so thankful and glad. I get a little freaked out sometimes at how similar she and I are. I am glad she is back for a very long visit, I will be super sad if she leaves.”

Hannah sighed, “I don't want to think about that. Let’s think happy thoughts, my love. I have a feeling she will stay.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was making popcorn on the stove in preparation for movie night when Hermione got home. He told her that they were going to watch Die Another Day. The movie had just been released on DVD and James Bond was his and Harry’s favorite series.

Harry apparated into the entryway, “Sirius, my main man, the Saviour has arrived with the beer and Chinese food.”

“Now we can get this party started, our Savior has arrived with our sustenance and libations,” he heard Hermione exclaim in a loud drawl.

Harry walked into the kitchen, “Hey, you.” Her smile brightened his day.

Sirius was shaking the pan on the stove as the popcorn was popping. “Egg roll time! Thanks for grabbing dinner Harry. Jean kept me out late today trying desserts and going over plans for the shop. It really is tiring work.”

Hermione slapped Sirius' shoulder, “goof.” She turned to Harry, “how was your day?”

Harry set the takeaway and beer on the counter. Hermione set three beers out on the counter and the other three in the fridge. She opened the beers while Harry pulled the food out of the bag.

“Oh we are collating a lot of data from the anniversary party. Lessons learned are good but by the end of the day my brain is all spreadsheeted out.” He grabbed a beer and took a long sip.

He grinned at her. “This is my favorite beer, it’s an orange IPA.” Her eyes lit up and she grabbed it and smelled the beer. “So how was your day Hermione?”

She tasted the beer and sighed, “yep, that's a good IPA. The Shinny Sands one from Australia is still the best IPA. Alas, that is only available down the street from my beach house. I spent the day in my happy place -- a library.” 

She moved to the cupboard and grabbed plates and utensils and set them on the counter.

“The Longbottom Library is a disaster and a fun challenge for me.” Hermione handed Sirius a bowl to put the popcorn in.

Hermione handed Harry a plate and one for herself. “There are so many amazing books that I have never read before. Hannah read the lineage book and the first two journals out loud. It was a great day.”

Hermione grabbed an egg roll and set it on her plate. She grabbed her beer on the way to the couch.

Harry followed her and asked, “Did it remind you of the Codex in the beginning?”

“Thankfully, it is not as bad as the Codex. It's really just a big organization project. It was so nice to be surrounded by books and nothing to do but look at them and figure out where they go.”

Hermione turned and saw Sirius giving them a curious look. His eyes darted to Harry and back to her, she blushed. His eyes got big and she mouthed ‘later’ to him.

“Sirius, get over here and let’s get this movie started,” Harry said with a laugh.

Sirius sat down on the other side of Hermione. He flicked his wand and the lights in the room dimmed and the volume turned up. When they were done with James Bond, they made it a double feature and put on Jaws 3. 

Hermione fell asleep partway through the movie, leaning on Harry. Harry wrapped his arm around her. Soon, Harry too was lulled to sleep by the darkroom and the girl resting by his side.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Hermione.”

“Hermione, we need to get up,” Harry whispered in her ear. 

Hermione ground and snuggled into his side trying to stay in her cocoon of sleep. 

“One last try, it's time to wake up.” When she didn’t open her eyes, he started tickling her side.

Hermione sat up almost instantly pushing away his hands, fists balled. “No tickling...” She stopped and looked at Harry confused.

“Careful Killer, we fell asleep on the couch.” Harry grinned holding up his hands. “I need to get to work, I have twenty minutes.”

Her brain finally caught up to her when she sat that she was in the living room, she poked him in the chest. “No waking me up with tickling, you stinker.”

“Well nothing else would wake you up, your highness. You kept ignoring me so I had to wake you up somehow.” Harry laughed.

Hermione shook her head and stood up. She stretched trying to shake the sleep from her body.

Harry couldn’t help but admire the beautiful woman’s body beside him as she stood up from the couch and stretched. He had to quickly pull his eyes from her bottom to her face as she turned around and held out her hand to help him up.

Sirius walked into the room. “Morning you two, sleep well?”  
Harry laughed, “Good till I had to wake up this fighter and she started punching me.”

Hermione punched him in the arm, “Thought you had to run, Potter.”

She pushed him towards the floo. Harry laughed and beelined for the stairs.

“Hey, I thought you had to go to work?” Hermione stood at the base of the stairs with her hand on her hip.

Harry stopped and turned to grin at her, “I can't go to work in yesterday’s clothes, so I am going to my room to change. I would invite you up but I do have to go to work.” He started up the stairs but missed a step and had to catch himself.

“One step at a time Potter.” Sirius walked into the hallway as he stumbled up the stairs.

Hermione pointed up, “I thought he moved into Potter Manor full time.”

He handed Hermione a cup of coffee and set one in a to-go cup on the table by the fireplace. “He does but like I have a room at the manor, he still has his here. It's good for situations like this. Want some breakfast?”

“I think Hannah was going to make breakfast so I should be heading over,” Hermione replied with a shake of her head.

An owl tapped at the window in the kitchen, Sirius walked back into the kitchen and opened the window to let it in.

Harry came running back down the stairs, running his hands through his hair. Hermione handed him the coffee cup. “Thanks, Hermione. Can I pick you up at three tomorrow for our date?”

Hermione smiled. “All afternoon, pulling out all the stops.” 

“Tomorrow is just the beginning.” Harry said as he stopped at the fireplace and smiled at her. With a wink, he threw some floo powder into the flames, then he was gone. Hermione just stared at where her best friend had been, a goofy grin slowly spreading on her face. 

“Hermione, Neville sent an owl, apparently Hannah isn’t feeling well and is staying in bed while he is heading to the bank. He wanted to make sure you knew to eat before you came over. You up for omelets?”

Hermione nodded and followed him back into the kitchen. She sat down at the bar, Sirius passed her a green onion, cutting board, and knife. He grabbed the eggs and other ingredients from the fridge.

“So wanna talk about anything?” Sirius asked and started cracking the eggs into a bowl.

Hermione nodded at him, glad that he broached the conversation first. She looked down at the onion focused on chopping it into perfect pieces, “Well…”

“You know me, I am nosey and I want to know, but no pressure from me. You choose what to share with me and when you want to share it. I just don't want you getting all stuck in your head about whatever that is. I promise no snarky Sirius to you when talking about this.”

“Thanks Sirius. As far as this whole Harry thing… I feel like I am standing on the edge of a cliff and about to jump off.”

Sirius added eggs to the pan and started grating the cheese. “Well what’s stopping you from jumping?”

“I should correct my statement, given we have fallen asleep together twice since I got back and I said yes to date with him. I have already jumped off that proverbial cliff.”

“Yep, you jumped.”

“Sirius, he makes me feel so crazy. We are going on a date, tomorrow at three, so I am trying not to freak myself out because this is what I have wanted. Hell, fourteen-year-old me doesn't believe that this is actually happening.”

“I knew that there was more there between you two than just best friends…”

Hermione snorted. “Well, of course I always wanted more. But I buried those feelings down so far they didn't see the light of day. Even in the sun bleached Australia as I kept them buried down. It wasn’t until my bloody therapist asked about the dance in the tent.

“That damn dance and that damn war. The emotions that I buried into that lightning bolt shaped box came flooding out. I was a damn mess. But I talked through them and figured out my shit. I know where I stand on my feelings but never did I think he would reciprocate them.”

“Hermione, to be honest, this direction was inevitable. I am dense but even I could see it between the two of you. It just took a bit longer while you both healed from the war.”

Sirius flipped the omelet without a spatula and Hermione clapped. 

“Mad skills Sirius.” 

He bowed.

“You kids have been through more than most people would experience in three lifetimes. You were already a pretty mature kid and you grew up too damn fast. Please trust yourself and your magic and above all else don't overthink it.”


	13. Chapter 13 - First Date Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey hi and hello to all my readers out there. I hope you enjoy this chapter… it's date night!
> 
> So many thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and The Muse of Apollo for all of their help!

Chapter 13

Hermione headed over to Longbottom manor after breakfast with Sirius. Talila met her at the entrance to the floo room. Hermione noticed that Talila had been extra attentive to her everytime she was at the manor. She told her that Hannah was not feeling well and would be staying in bed. She thanked the elf and was on her way to the library to bury herself in the tomes of knowledge. 

Hours later and now only one third of the books left to go through Hermione stood up and slowly made her way out of the library. She had found more journals that morning and planned to dive straight into them that afternoon.

Talila was nervously waiting by the library entrance.

“Good morning…” she looked at her watch, “Well I guess afternoon now, Talila.”

“I wanted to bring you lunch and…” she paused and moved from side to side nervously, “I don't want to be too forward but I heard from Mistress Hannah say that you are learning more about my Allison. You were finding her journals and I could tell you more stories about her.”

“I would welcome your company, Talila. Why don't we have lunch here and we can talk?” Hermione motioned for them to move to the table.

Talila snapped in a tray of food and made her way into the library. “Thank you, Miss, I did not want to interrupt your work.”

Hermione was putting the pieces together as Talila set out their lunch. Talila was Allison’s elf, which meant that she was a Harwood family elf and would want to bond with Hermione. Hermione realized that this was why she had been so attentive to her every time she came over to the manor. This elf wanted to prove herself to Hermione.

“I didn’t know that you were Allison’s house-elf. I was told by Gringotts that there were no elves left on the property, that all had been taken by the Death Eaters or had died.”

Talila looked down at her plate, Hermione could feel the sadness radiating from her. She reached out and patted Talila’s hand, trying to comfort the elf.

Talila looked up at her with a sad smile. “Miss Allison graduated from Hogwarts in May of 1978 and she went to work for the Order. She was so smart, like you, and made spells that helped them find information. I do not really know any more of what she did, it is not my place.” 

Talila paused eating a bite of her sandwich, gathering her thoughts. “She left in August and did not come back home until January 1980. When she came back she was not the same person. She was panicked all of the time and thought that someone was following her. Alice told Allison about the prophecy that was told about her and Lily’s babies. In February there was an attack on the manor, she told me to go to Alice and make sure she was okay. I was not at the manor…” Tears spilled from Talila’s eyes.

“Miss Hermione, I wanted to go back but Alice forbade me and she saved my life.” She hiccuped. “All my friends were killed or enslaved by the evil people. I was taken in by the Longbottoms and kept Miss Alice and Neville safe. And even at that, we failed. Meemy and I got Master Neville out of the house that night. We couldn’t go back to save them because we had to protect Master Neville.” Tears fell down her cheeks and she stopped talking, trying to gather herself.

Hermione reached out and held Talila’s hand trying to comfort the elf. “Sorry Miss, I did not mean to cry at you. I wanted to tell you happier memories of her...” Talila looked down at the table.

“Talila, these are important things for me to know too. I am trying to figure out what happened around the time I was born and this gives me the start of a timeline. Draco told me about the attack but not too many details. Thank you for being brave and telling me this. I absolutely hate that you had to go through all this. You loved Allison and are allowed to grieve and you can cry at me anytime.”

Talila looked up at Hermione, those large green eyes met her brown. “You have her eyes, and every time I see you, I see her. I am so grateful that she kept you safe. Now, I will tell you everything that I know about Allison and our family.” Talila’s eyes lit up with excitement.

~~~~~~~

Hermione arrived back at Grimmauld Place five hours later with a light heart and a wealth of knowledge. Talila had given Hermione a different perspective than the journals displayed. She told Hermione stories about Allison - how she was as a little kid, when she came back from Hogwarts after her first year, and so many more stores that brought the woman to life for Hermione. Hermione could not wait to dive into the rest of the journals headfirst.

Laughter from guys night in the basement drifted up behind her as she made her way to the library. She set the Indian curry that the Longbottom elves had prepared for her dinner and the pile journals on the table. She opened the artfully packed dinner and the smell of curry perfumed the room.

Hermione set out two magical book holders and propped an Alice and an Allison journal on each. She started eating her dinner, mixing the rice with the spicy green curry. 

Alice wrote her journals like a novel, telling stories and vivid details all about the people that surrounded her. Whereas Allison’s were all about the things she had learned and her projects. She was very to the point and structured. Hermione found it very funny that her journals seemed to be a happy medium between Alice and Allison - filled with knowledge while also being filled with stories of her adventures.

As she read through the journal she learned that Allison was even more dedicated to learning than Hermione had ever been. She had learned a lot as a child at home, which set her up to be years ahead of the other students at Hogwarts. Allison did independent advanced studies in each year at Hogwarts to accelerate her learning. Hermione could see her love of Arithmancy and Ancient Runes even from a young age. She was fascinated, as Hermione was, with creating new spells because it was an amalgamation of all of the subjects that led to creating something new or improved. At the end of her fourth year she found she was exceptionally good at charms and worked with Professor Filwick to hone her skills in that area.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Shit, I hate poker. I fold.” Harry threw his cards down on the table., He stood up from the table where Remus, Edward, and Draco were finishing the last hand.

Sirius laughed and clapped his nephew on the shoulder. “I think you need another shot.”

“Oh hell no Black,” Harry shook his head and waved off the drink, “I don't need any more alcohol tonight. I cannot have a hangover, I have a date with destiny tomorrow.” He grabbed a slice of pizza and floated his way over to the couch.

Draco folded and got up following Harry’s example. “I say video games next time. I suck at stupid poker and these guys clean us out.” He grabbed the chips from the table and sprawled out on the recliner.

While Sirius was frugal with most of his fortune, he spared no expense when he overhauled his family’s ancient residence. Sirius had turned the basement of Grimmauld Place into a man cave complete with video games, televisions, pool table, foosball, and a large card table. In the middle of the room he turned the entire wall into telly, with a floor to ceiling screen and projector. There were leather couches and chairs surrounding it. The basement played host to many parties and was the location of their bi-weekly guys night.

“Yea Road Rage is so much better than poker. I am going to go upstairs and get some sleep, you guys have fun.” Harry finished his pizza and stood up.

Draco held a glass up in cheers. “Sleep well, Potter.”

“Don't trip up the stairs again,” Sirius winked at him reminding him of that morning.

Harry laughed it off and made his way out of the room quickly. While he was very excited about his date, he did not want to deal with the questions or ribbing from his friends. While harmless they could get out of hand. 

He made his way up the stairs and saw the light on in the library. He walked to the open door and found Hermione laying on the couch with two books floating above her. She was tapping her feet on the couch to the rhythm of the music playing through the library. Harry didn’t want to interrupt her but couldn't help but stare. She would reach over to the table and grab what looked to be a cookie, break it apart, and slowly eat the pieces. 

“You boys have fun?” Hermione turned the page and turned towards him.

Harry smiled, “They are going to get even louder down there - Sirius was pulling out the beer pong.”

Hermione laughed, “Why did you leave so early?”

“I do not want a Sirius-sized hangover tomorrow, gotta get stuff ready.” Harry goofy grinned at her.

“I can help with your plans if you tell me what we are doing.”

“Hermione, I may be tipsy but you’re not getting that information out of me. That’s why I had to leave the partying, you, beautiful, beautiful woman.” Harry didn't move from his spot.

The alcohol lowered his inhibitions, “I am off to my room to get sleep so I can see your gorgeous face tomorrow. Good night Hermione.” He blew a kiss in her direction and headed up the stairs to the third floor.

Hermione tried to go back to reading but was too distracted. The guys were getting louder and she got up and walked to her room. Thankfully the noise went away when she closed her door. She lit the fireplace and laid down on the carpet. She went through her breathing exercises trying to clear her mind of all her thoughts. She listened to the cracking of the fire and it eventually lulled her to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius woke up to the smell of a fry up emanating from downstairs with a splitting headache. He groaned and rolled out of bed, there was a potion and glass of water on his bedside table. He quickly took the potion that took the edge off of his headache and threw on a shirt and shorts to head downstairs.

Harry sat down a plate of food at the island for Sirius. The greasy potatoes, eggs, and sausages were calling his name, so he dove right in. 

Harry returned his attention to the stove. "You guys have a fun rest of the night?"

“Yea we played a few rounds of pong and Draco kicked our asses at the PlayStation. The boys got super nosey about your date with destiny.”

Harry laughed, “Oh geez, too much to drink makes my tongue too loose.” Harry shook his head as he plated two additional plates of food. His mind went back to the conversation he had with Hermione last night. He put a stasis spell on the plates of food and set them aside on the island.

“Good thing you left before you could spill the beans. So do you have the day off?”

Harry put all of the dishes in the sink and cast a cleaning spell on them. He took off the apron and turned toward Sirius. “I am going to check in at work and then I am off.” 

He pointed at the plates, “Jean said that she was on her way over to talk to Hermione this morning, so I made them both plates.”

Sirius laughed, “Trying to impress the lovely ladies, smart man. Have fun today.” 

“Thanks Sirius.” Harry nodded as he did a final wipe down of the counter. Then he walked out and to the fireplace with a final goodbye to his Godfather.

Sirius turned on the tv and started watching the news as he finished his second plate of food.

“Hey Black, surprised you're still not passed out,” Jean said as she walked into the kitchen. “Edward was just waking up when I left.”

“Your husband is a hustler, Jean. He beat Remus at poker two of the three hands. All these youngins have no idea how to play. It was hilarious. The only reason I am up is Harry made breakfast, the smell lured me out of bed. Looks like lazy bones Hermione is still asleep.”

Jean laughed, “Well, you boys probably kept her up late with all your craziness. I sent the contract to the lawyer this morning, So you and Ed are going to meet at the Burrow and go talk to the contractor right?” 

Sirius groaned, “Yep, I guess I will be off.” He got up from the couch. 

“Have fun Sirius” Jean grinned at him, “I am going to have a girls day with the lazy bones.”

Sirius set his dishes in the sink and with a wave of his hand, he was dressed, “hope you have fun with lazy bones and get her out of her head. Have fun on me please.” he set a fifty pound note on the counter.

Sirius apparated out of the house. Jean grabbed the remote and changed the channels. She decided she'd wait a few more minutes before waking up Hermione. 

In the end, she didn't have to. Just a few minutes later, Hermione walked into the living room. She was happy to see her mother sitting on the couch and sat down beside her. “Morning mum. So apparently the carpet is so comfortable that I fell asleep.”

“That couldn’t have been too comfortable. Your boyfriend made us breakfast.” Jean pointed at the plates and watched Hermione’s face turn red. “Be good, and grab our food and coffee. We can watch some trash tv before our girl’s day.”

With a flourish of her hand, the plates floated to the coffee table, settling gently on the surface. She didn't have to but it was always fun to exaggerate and make a show out of it. 

“I love magic,” Jean commented.

The coffee cups followed and settled next to their food. “Girl’s day?” Hermione asked.

“Wow this looks delicious.” Jean was glad that Harry did not serve them the fry up she had seen Sirius eating. He served them eggs with spinach, sausage, fruit and pastries. That heart attack that Sirius had eaten would not have sat well in her stomach. She grabbed the pastry and her cup of coffee and sat back on the couch. “We are going to get manicures and pedicures today.” 

Hermione’s mind went to this afternoon and her heart started racing, she grabbed her coffee to have something to do with her hands. “That sounds fun umm, are you sure you can do this with all the shop stuff?”

“Your pops has this and I need a break,” Jean said as she finished her pastry and grabbed the plate of food. “I got all the legal crap done. We gotta remember we are on vacation too so we need to have fun. And I hear you have a date and I need all the details - where are you going? What are you doing?” 

Hermione laughed. “No clue and it's driving me nuts. I think that was his intention.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione tried to wipe the imaginary wrinkles out of her shirt as she waited in the living room for Harry. Jean had left the house five minutes before to meet Edward for dinner. She tried not to pace around the living room.

It had been a great day spent with her mother. Confiding in her mother about her problems had been a struggle for Hermione when she moved to Australia. Hermione had been an island all unto herself and could figure out everything on her own. But she came to realize that she could not weather the storm of life on her own. She found a fast friend in her mother and leaned on her. 

Talking to Jean had helped her to go from a mess of jitters to surprisingly calm. They went to the nail salon and she talked about her feelings and she came to realize that her jitters were normal. Jitters showed how excited she was for the date and did not mean that something was wrong, really it meant that something was right. Her mother told her the story of how she and Edward met and their disastrous first date. It started with a lovely dinner and ended with Edward falling into a pond.

She was eternally grateful for her mum’s help with choosing what to wear. Hermione learned over the four years that the way that she presented herself to the world was important. Caring about what she wore helped her to feel more comfortable in her own skin. But still, she had no clue what to wear for a first date. Harry left a note on the counter for her to dress casual for inside and outside. Jean had looked through her closet and Hermione swore she must have performed magic. She was able to take a simple pair of jeans and a purple fancy off-shoulder shirt and accessorize it with a necklace and her favorite pair of knee-high boots and turn it into the perfect outfit. Jean had missed these mother-daughter moments when she was at Hogwarts.

The doorbell sounded and Hermione stood up quickly, hoping whoever was at the door would be quick. Hermione opened the door and Harry was standing on the porch.

He was dressed smart in a button down teal shirt and khaki pants. Her heart started beating faster when she met his eyes. He held a bouquet of purple and yellow daisies in one hand and a picnic basket in the other.

Harry took in the beautiful sight in front of him and smiled at her. “Flowers for the beautiful lady.” 

He handed her the flowers and lifted up the picnic basket, “and treats for us to enjoy.”

Hermione took the flowers with a smile and moved to let Harry in the house. He followed her into the kitchen where she found a vase and set the flowers on the kitchen island.

“Thank you, they are beautiful.”

“Only the best for you Hermione. Shall we get going? There is a park a few blocks away that I would love to show you.” They walked out of the house, side by side as they always had been.

~~~~~~~~~~~

They headed away from Grimmauld Place and towards Culpeper Community Garden. They may have lived in a magical neighborhood but all around them was the muggle world. As they walked, Harry pointed out restaurants that he and Sirius frequented. He was very animated Hermione could see how comfortable Harry had grown being in both worlds. Hermione felt slightly out of place in both worlds in Australia but in England, she felt more like she belonged.

They walked around the high walls that encircled the park until they found an unassuming staircase that served as the entrance into the park. Hermione was shocked that such an expansive park was in the middle of London. She took in the sweeping lawn dotted trees with a large pond in the middle with a willow tree dipping its branches in the water. Off in the distance, she saw what looked to be small garden plots that people were gathered around.

Harry smiled at the look on her face. “That is why I love this park. Come on, we are going to go to my favorite spot by the willow tree.” 

He grabbed her hand and led her to a spot off of the main path in full view of the park under the willow tree. He set the picnic basket down and pulled out a blanket. Hermione grabbed the other side and they laid it out.

After they sat down, Harry continued, “this is a hidden gem that makes me feel like I am not in the middle of the city. You see the plots over there.” 

Hermione’s eyes went to the wisteria and rose-covered arch to the garden plots. 

“Those are the community garden plots. The locals come and grow plants of all sorts. They get to stamp their own style on the garden area and it's amazing to see all the creativity. My old plot is right there in the middle, near Alicia there in the green apron.”

Harry opened the picnic basket and started setting out the dishes, Hermione watched people interact, one woman pulling weeds, another watering the plot for their neighbor, two kids were running around the outside of the gardens, their parents shaking their heads at their antics. “What a wonderful sense of community here. Any vegetables from your garden in this basket?”

“The veggies in today's basket are from the Potter Manor gardens. A couple months ago, I gifted my plot to a family with young children that moved down the street from Sirius. I still come and help them and others garden because I love being here. The little girl wants to be one of the gardeners when she grows up and follows them around helping out wherever she can. It's really cute.”

Harry pointed to the spread in front of them. “I made us some of my favorite snacks.” He pulled out a plate filled with cheese, meats, and cut up vegetables. Beside that he set a bowl of pita chips and three flavored hummus dips. 

They started eating and talking about the garden and his times in the park with Teddy. Hermione told him about her travels around Australia and how varied the people and culture and food were on the vast continent. She had explored most of it on the weekend, from the deserts to the tropical forests to the grasslands and the tundra.

Harry stacked the plates from their lunch and put them into the basket. He then pulled out the piece de la resistance, a matcha swiss roll cake. He also grabbed a thermos that was full of jasmine tea.

“This is just perfect Harry.” Her eyes grew wider when she saw the dessert. “Oh you made a swiss roll, that is one of my favorites.”

“I know you mentioned it in the journal many times so I had to try to make it for you.” Harry put a slice on each of their plates and poured the tea into the cups.

“Matcha has to be one of the best flavors in the whole world.” Hermione picked up her plate and took in the earthly sweet smell of the cake, “Oh Harry, my mother was so stubborn to try cooking with it. It wasn’t until I made her matcha macarons that she fell in love with it.” Hermione took a bite and sighed as the slightly bitter and just sweet enough flavors exploded in her mouth. The pastry cream in the middle had chocolate chips in it that added a fun pop of texture. She stayed quiet enjoying the dessert.

Harry was glad that his dessert impressed Hermione. “Glad you like it, I got the matcha from a temple in Japan when I went for a work trip last month.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up. “It is pure bliss, Harry. Oh, Japan. It is my dream to go to Tokyo and immerse myself in tea and mochi and ramen and street food and everything. I have been reading more and more about their history and culture. I borrowed one of the cooking books that Hannah bought on traditional Japanese cooking to practice and prepare myself for a trip.” Hermione took a bite of the swiss roll and rolled her eyes back in happiness.

Harry put another slice on her plate. “Well I think we need to go sometime because my work trip was way too short and I spent a lot of it in meetings. I think we could have a lot of fun.”

“I wholeheartedly agree, Harry.” Hermione rested against the tree enjoying listening to Harry telling her about his trip. The sparkle in his eyes and exuberance was addicting. Her travel bug was itching to go somewhere new and it looked like Harry had the same bug as well.

An hour later, they started packing up the dessert dishes and Hermione found herself sad that their date was ending. 

Harry helped Hermione up and grabbed the blanket. He saw the sad look on her face.

“This is not the end, Hermione, I wanted to show you somewhere that I spend every moment I can in. I know you will love it.”

“Good, I didn’t want the date to end. Lead on, Mister.” 

Hermione took his outstretched hand and pulled her into his arms. He whispered in her ear, “I am going to need to apparate us, hold on tight.”

Hermione wrapped her arms around him and took a deep breath trying to stop her heart from exploding. His scent engulfed her senses, in parchment and fresh-cut grass. She did not even notice that they had appeared in a large Manor. 

“So my beautiful bookworm, this is the Potter Manor library.” Harry moved out of the way for her to see into the massive library.

Hermione forgot to breathe at the sight of the library in front of her. She had been to hundreds of libraries in her life. Hell she had even visited the British library that held over one-hundred and seventy million books. This library looked to rival that one. There were dark brown shelves full of books as far as her eyes could see. There were bookcases along the, what had to be, four or five-story high light blue walls. Her brain could not comprehend all of the knowledge that that room contained.

“Hermione, you need to breathe please,” Harry rested his hand on her shoulder. “So what do you think? You see, I have become a bit of a bookworm too and I knew I had to…”

Hermione took a deep breath trying to get her thoughts together, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. She stared into those green eyes that had captivated her heart so many years ago. She could not have imagined a more perfect date, with the man she loved surrounded by books. Their lips met and it was one of those moments that neither would ever forget.


	14. Chapter 14 - Twins?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So many thanks to the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3)!!!!!!!!!! She is a boss for this fic... alpha and betaing too!!!!

It was past midnight by the time Hermione made it back to Grimmauld Place. She was flying on cloud nine, a stack of books in her right hand and containers of leftovers from dinner and the rest of the swiss roll in her left. She could not stop the smile on her face as she walked to the kitchen. The good night kiss had been just as good as their first and many shared throughout the evening. 

Hermione walked into the living room and set all of the items down on the counter. 

“We were about to send the guard out to find you,” Sirius exclaimed from the couch. 

“Hey,” she greeted him and put the dinner in the fridge.

Hermione grabbed the swiss roll and joined Sirius on the couch. She could not keep the grin off her face, she sat back and sighed contentedly.

“Was that my daughter who came through the floo?” Jean yelled from upstairs.

“Yes, Jean.” Sirius smiled.

She came running into the room with a fluffy red blanket in her hand and sat down on the couch beside Hermione.

“I had to grab a blanket because this man keeps this house too cold.”

Hermione grabbed part of the blanket and tucked it under her legs. “Mum, have you been here all night?”

“Not all night, had delicious Italian food with your father, M, and Arthur. Your dad is probably still working on that car with Arthur, their new man project.” She rolled her eyes, “So I had to come back and stay up with this ragamuffin and see how everything went. I’ve been kicking his ass at board games to pass the time. So, how was your night?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione walked through the fireplace with a yawn and followed the now familiar route to the library. She had not heard from Hannah if they were on for breakfast but her pregnant cousin sitting on the couch quickly answered that question.

“Good morning, Cuz. I could not sleep so I got up early and baked a lot.” She pointed to the tray that was filled with pastries. “I figured you would be here soon.”

“You think Talila can bring me a strong pot of coffee?” She sat down on the couch with another yawn.

“Right away, Miss,” Talila said from the doorway and popped away.

“Wow, that was fast.” Hermione continued to be impressed with the elf’s tenacity.

“She wants to impress you, I think she has since you specifically asked for her.” Hannah winked. “So do tell why are you so tired, cause I know for a fact that you don't have two human beings playing football with your insides?” 

Hermione grabbed a plate and filled it with pastries and placed it between her and Hannah. It was carb heaven on a plate.

“Sirius and my mum kept me up forever, talking about my date.” Hermione grabbed the chocolate-filled pastry and took a huge bite. The flakey crust melted in her mouth and it was magical. Hermione knew for sure that this would have to be on the Sweet Shoppe menu.

“Oh, really? That sounds like fun.”

Talila popped back into the room with a french press filled with coffee. She placed a mug on the table and poured the coffee with a flourish. She added cream and a cube of sugar, exactly how Hermione preferred it.

“If you would like more coffee, please let me know.”

“Thanks, Talila, this is perfect.” She grabbed the cup and took a long sip and the elf popped out of the room. 

“So on the left of the plate are the savory pies and the rest are sweet, I did mango, coconut, chocolate, and almond. The chorizo,” she held up her half-eaten pastry, “is my favorite but there is a spiced vegetable and a chicken one. Could not decide which I wanted more so I and the elves went a little crazy. We sent pastries to the local hospital to feed the workers this morning and some will go to the local school for a snack in the afternoon.” Hannah wanted to ask about the date but didn’t know where they stood on that. She was getting closer to Hermione but first dates may not be in their wheelhouse yet.

“Yes, these need to go on the Sweet Shoppe menu, Hannah,” Hermione grinned. “So, I hope you don't mind, last night I was telling Harry about the library project here and he offered to come and help me tomorrow with the sorting.” Hermione finished her first cup of coffee, feeling a little nervous that she had overstepped her bounds.

“Hermione, Harry is family to us, he is always welcome. And now as your gentleman caller, I wholeheartedly say the more the merrier,” she squealed, “I am so happy and by the smile on your face you are too.”

“Jumped off the proverbial cliff and it was an amazing first date. And now I am so far in the deep end of the pool, I don't know which way is up and if I ever want to come up for air.” 

Hermione had not admitted that the night before with her mum and Sirius. But it just came out with Hannah.

Hannah patted her arm, “everything just clicked all at once, didn’t it? Kind of terrifyingly fast for your brain to process it isn't it?”

Hermione set down her pastry and faced Hannah, “yes, that is exactly right. I didn’t think anyone would understand.”

“That was how Neville and I were. We had talked in the early years of school but had not grown close until we went back for our seventh year and were paired together as prefects. And one night he asked me to go on a walk with him. We talked and walked for hours, after curfew of course. We ended up in the greenhouses and I kissed him. Everything was so perfect from that point on and it didn’t feel like it could be real.” Hannah sighed, “my brain could not process everything that had happened and my heart just led the way.”

“It was in the Potter library for us.” Hermione smiled at the memories from the night before.

“Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. What did I do to deserve this amazing man?” Hannah shrugged, “I think it's our magic telling us it's okay but our brains can't catch up that fast. Magic and love are closely intertwined and when you fit with a person, your magic will tell you. And you and Harry, are meant to be together.”

Hermione felt better after talking with Hannah, She felt justified in her feelings. They enjoyed their breakfast and spent the rest of the morning chatting. Hannah was such a welcoming caring person and she was so easy to talk to. This new friendship, all of her old ones, and the one growing relationship with her green-eyed wizard filled so many voids in Hermione’s heart, she finally felt at home and happy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry joined Hermione at the manor the next day. Hannah was sitting on the couch in the library when they entered and exclaimed, “morning, sunshines.”

“Morning, Hannah Banana. How are you doing?” Harry walked over to the couch and hugged her.

“Uncomfortable but what else is new. So, I hear you are dating my cousin. You best treat her like the queen she is.”

“You have nothing to worry about. She is the best thing that has happened to me.” Harry grinned and sat down next to her.

Hermione pulled a chair over to the table, “that breakfast looks amazing girl.”

“It's all Alfred’s doing this morning. Today, everything hurts so I am staying put on this couch all day. He made spicy and sweet chicken and waffles. Harry, can you hand me my plate?”

Harry handed Hannah her plate. 

Hermione’s eyes went wide and she eagerly grabbed her plate, “you are taking me back to this mom and pop restaurant in downtown Sydney where I ate my first chicken and waffle. It had this sauce that was to die for.”

She dipped her finger in the sauce on the side and rolled her eyes back. It tasted like honey, sriracha, and umami magic. “That sauce is amazing Hannah, the elves should bottle and sell that.”

Hannah laughed and they all tucked into their breakfast. After their morning meal, Harry and Hermione started sorting through more books.

A few hours in Hermione threw her hands up at the diminishing piles of books. “Well since this is the last stack of books and no journals, it looks like we need to go to the manor for the last three of Allison’s Hogwarts journals.”

Harry nodded at her, “at least we found all of Alice’s today.”

“Yea, I guess that is a good thing.” Hermione sighed. She wanted to know more about the later years at Hogwarts and about Allison’s post-Hogwarts assignments with the Order. She hoped that these would hold the clues to who her biological father was because while these past journals were interesting, they held no clues.

Hannah sighed, “well I guess we will have to take that trip to the manor later this week.”

“That is if those kiddos don't decide to come sooner,” Hermione grinned.

“One can only--” Hannah stopped mid-sentence as a contraction took her breath away.

Hermione stood up quickly when she saw Hannah gripping the couch in pain and moved to her side, “how long have they been coming?”

Hannah let out a strained laugh, “Oh you know a few practice ones this morning but this was the first doozie. Guess they weren’t practice ones.” 

Talila appeared in the room. “Meemy is getting Master Neville and the midwife. Looks like our babies are going to come today.”

Hannah looked down at her belly, “finally you stubborn children.” She stood up from the couch with the help of Hermione and Talila. 

Hannah sighed, “it looks like no trip to Harwood manor for this girl. We didn’t get a chance to ask before so I figure now is better than never. Neville and I had wanted to ask you two today if you would be the godparents to the twins?”

“Hannah, of course,” Hermione hugged her and kept an arm around her in support.

“Will you stay? I would really like to introduce you to them first? You are our only blood family and I think it's really important and I just,” tears fell down her cheeks as the enormity of what was going to happen finally hit her. Hannah’s parents had passed away during the war and Neville’s gran had died after. She wanted so badly for the family to surround her and her babies.

“I will be here as long as you want, Hannah. Don't you worry. Gotta meet my little nieces.” Hermione rubbed her back through the tears.

Meemy popped back in the room, “Mistress the midwife said you need to walk around for a bit, it will help get the labor moving. Master will be here soon, he had to get out of the Wizgamnot meeting. He is leaving as quickly as he can. I told him it would take hours for the babies to come.”

Hermione turned to Harry who looked to be out of his element. “Harry, why don't you keep sorting through the books, we need to finish that last pile. I’ll go walk around with Hannah until Neville gets here.”

“Now that I can help with. And I would love to be their godfather,” he added before they walked out of the library. He sat back down in the books and continued organizing. 

Harry finally finished sorting through the books and stood up looking around the room. The library looked to be a little less chaotic with large piles of books stacked near the shelves. He started putting the Herbology books on the shelves in alphabetical order. 

Hermione walked into the library an hour later. She and Hannah walked through the grounds of the manor. Neville had joined them, apologizing profusely about being late. He told them that he had to stay for the budget vote since he sat in for the Harwood and Longbottom seats. He had not been able to leave until it was done.

“Hey, you.” Hermione sat down on the couch with a yawn and Harry joined her, “going to need caffeine to stay awake, stayed up way too late with Sirius last night playing video games.” 

She looked around the library, “this place looks even better and you even started putting them away. You know, I have an even quicker way of putting them back on the shelves.”

Harry sat back and watched her work. She waved her wand and started using magic to put the books in alphabetical order on the shelves. As she did this she explained to Harry that she had worked with a professor at the Wizarding school in Australia to create a spell for organizing books. She was the only person running the Codex for the first year so she had to be the most efficient she could be with her time and this spell made it much easier to restock her shelves.

She stopped after organizing half of the books and leaned into Harry. “Let's do the rest later. I am tired.”

Harry had his arm around her and was playing with her curls. “You’ll have to teach me that spell, that is pretty fantastic. I grabbed some books you had on your list to read, want to join me?”

She rested her head in his lap and nodded. He handed her an old herbology tome and he started reading the Longbottom and Harwood family journal. They sat in comfortable silence as the fire burned in the background. 

Hermione’s book fell from her hands as she fell asleep. Harry caught it and placed it on the couch next to him. He continued reading through the family journal, wanting to be able to help Hermione with this journey of learning about her biological family. He had done extensive research on the Potter and Black lines and now was glad he could learn the history of another family.

The day before Harry had stopped by Flourish and Blotts to share his news about Hermione and ask Mauve and Pops to add the Longbottom and Harwood families to his list of topics to keep an eye out for rare books.

Talila appeared in the room and set down a tray of sandwiches, crisps, and tea on the table for them, “would you and Miss like anything else?”

Harry shook his head, “I think we are good for now Talila, thanks for taking such great care of Hermione. I think you are close to your goal, she talked about you on our date and how honored she felt that you shared your stories about Allison with her.”

Talila beamed in happiness, “thank you, Mister Potter, I do hope.” She stopped talking, noticing that Hermione was waking up.

“Hey Talila, thanks for bringing us lunch.”

“Not a problem Miss. Mistress Hannah is doing well but is going to be a while longer. I know that she asked you to stay to meet the babies after they are born. Would you like me to freshen up your room, Mister Potter? I have already prepared Miss Hermione’s.”

Harry nodded, “that would be great, Talila. Is there anything we can do to help? Like, make everyone dinner?”

“That would be most welcome, we the elves are going to perform a ritual to add our new babies into our magic after they are born. For that, we must prepare.” Talila was dancing on her tiptoes in excitement.

“Can I help with the ritual?” Hermione asked.

Talila nodded excitedly, “Yes Miss you can. It's even more powerful when a member of the family helps. If you don't mind, I can explain everything to you right now.”

Hermione sat up and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek, “that sounds perfect,” she handed Harry a sandwich and grabbed one for herself.

“Our elf magic is linked directly to our family. This ritual is done after births, marriages, and adoptions so that our magic can bond to the new members of the family. Our family bonding ritual is done in the spell room in the basement in the rune circle. We will chant and say the spell in elvish to open our magic. It will be done within thirty minutes of the twins being born, that is when the magic is most potent.” 

Talila’s face dropped and she stopped. Tears started falling from her eyes. 

“Miss Hermione if you participate in this, it will most likely bond you and me together. I was Allison’s elf and bonded to her when she was born as Ana and Ashryn will be bonded with the twins. The bond that I had will search out your magic because you are my Allison's daughter. I am sorry.” 

Tears continued to fall from her eyes, she wanted to bond with Hermione so badly.

Hermione moved from the couch to sit beside the elf. Hermione had been thinking about the little house elf more and more. She knew during her school years that she had been completely wrong about freeing them. House-elves and Wizard/Witches held an integral bond, that helped both the magic-user and elf. As long as it was not abused, it was a good thing for the elves to have a family. She learned a lot from the aboriginal tribes in Australia about magical creatures and their bonds. She met many elves that shared their stories with her. 

“Talila, do you want to bond with me?” Hermione asked. 

“With everything I am Miss Hermione.” Talila looked into Hermione’s eyes trying to convey her feelings.

“Then let's do that tonight, or now, whatever is best. Thank you for giving me space and being here for me. Just so you know I am not going to be the easiest person to get along with, I do a lot of things for myself and am stubborn when people try to do things for me. You are a part of my family.”

Talila hugged Hermione and was happier than she ever imagined she would be. Ever since Allison had died, a piece of her had been missing. Alice and subsequently Granny Longbottom and Neville had been good to her but she was not their elf.

“Miss Hermione I am going to go get everything ready for our bonding on top of us doing our family bonding.” She gave one last smile and popped out of the room.

“The great SPEW leader, bonding with a house-elf. My, my how things have changed.” Harry grinned.

“You're a butt.” She jumped up from the floor and started ticking Harry. He of course had to fight back and minutes later they were snogging on the couch. They seemed to have a thing for libraries and could not keep their hands or lips to themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that afternoon, Neville and Hannah joined them in the library for dinner. Dinner was an interesting affair with Hannah stopping to breathe through the contractions. After they finished dinner, Hannah insisted that someone in this house get some damn sleep, since she would not be getting any. 

Hermione and Harry met with the elves after dinner to talk about the ritual. Everyone was delighted that Hermione and Talila would be bonding. Talila pulled out her fanciest dress for the night. She told Hermione it had been designed by one of the Longbottom elves. It was the Harwood family color of light blue and was adorned with sequins and jewels. 

Harry and Talila showed Hermione to her room. She was amazed at how well Talila knew her taste and style. Floor to ceiling windows stretched across the largest wall in the room and the moon shined brightly outside. Cushions were spread on the window seat with bookcases surrounding it. 

Her bed was centered in the room so that she could sit in the bed and look out at her view of the gardens. There was a fireplace across from the bed with a small sitting area and more bookshelves. Talila explained that Andre, the most artistic of the house elves, had painted the mural on the wall behind her bed. It was geometric patterns in varying hues of teal. In the middle was an Asian inspired otter with her name written in fancy script below. 

Harry reluctantly left her after giving her a searing kiss good night, “see you in a few hours, Hermione. There is a blue dress in your wardrobe that I had Winky grab from the manor that I thought would be perfect for the ritual.”

She closed her door with a sigh. That sultry sexy voice and kiss left her wanting so much more. She walked over to her wardrobe and found a ceremonial shift hanging in the front. It was the perfect thing to wear. She would need to be comfortable as she would be kneeling with the elves in the spell circle. She grabbed a pajama shirt, changed, and crawled into bed. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione quickly made her way down to the spell room in the basement of Longbottom manor, the twins had been born just a few minutes ago and she and the elves were meeting to complete their ritual. 

She saw Harry waiting outside of the spell room. He smiled at her and kissed her cheek, “you look perfect,” he commented as she walked into the room.

Harry sat outside of the circle and the elves and Hermione joined hands in the middle. One elf started chanting and the others joined in unison one after the other. Hermione felt the old magic course through her body and started chanting her part of the ritual. Talila and Hermione joined both hands together in the middle of the circle to complete their bonding.

At that moment, Hermione saw with such clarity and knew with everything in her heart that she was home. Her life was complete and so full of joy. She had family and friends that made her life so much fuller. While she liked Australia, England was her home. She looked over at Harry and the love burst from her chest for that green-eyed man. She smiled the most brilliant smile as a bright yellow light shone through the room as their bonding completed.

They moved and joined the rest of the elves to finish the family bonding with the twins. Bright purple light flooded the entire house as the spell completed. Hermione sat back trying to catch her breath. She felt like she had just run twenty miles. Talila placed her hand on Hermione’s back and she felt the magic of their bond flow to her and she was slightly better.

Harry moved to help Hermione up and hugged her. She didn’t know what to say, all the emotions and feelings going through her. “Shall we make our way up to their room?”

“That was intense.” They walked arm in arm up the stairs to the master bedroom. 

“I did that with the Potter Elves, the high you are feeling will become normal. Their magic is unique and so different from ours.” He rubbed her shoulder as they stopped in front of the doors, the elves were making their way into the room with them.

Neville and Hannah looked exhausted sitting on the bed with two pink swaddled bundles. “Hey you two,” Hannah waved them into the room.

“I am proud to present to you, our daughters.” Neville was such a proud dad staring at the little girl in his arms, “Hannah has our little Cicely Alice Longbottom.” he stood up and brought the baby in his arms over to Hermione, “and this is Chloe Ally Longbottom.”

Hermione’s rush of emotions from the ritual and her acceptance of her family made her choke up at the name. He handed the little girl over to Hermione who had tears running down her cheeks. She felt an instant bond to the tiny human that was asleep in her arms.

Hannah motioned for Harry to take Cicely, “you take this little spitfire, godfather. She came out screaming and finally just fell asleep.” Harry took her and sat down on the chair near the bed. 

Hannah sighed in relief, “first nasty potion down and Meemy is bringing me food. I swear I could eat a horse right now.” Meemy popped into the room with two trays and pointed to Neville to sit down.

“Bossy elf.” He sat down at the edge of the bed watching his friends dote on his daughters.

Meemy scolded him, “you need your food, Master.” She handed him a sandwich and he took it with a loving grin at the elf and promptly ate.

Talila was standing in the doorway watching her Mistress and family all together in the same room. Hermione saw Talila and walked over to her, she sat down on a chair and motioned for Talila to come forward, she stroked the baby's cheek in awe.

Hannah looked over at the scene and burst into tears, everyone turned towards the mother with concerned looks, “these damn hormones are making me nutty. That is so sweet.” She wiped away her tears. Neville moved to her side and comforted Hannah.

Sometime later, Hermione looked at the exhausted couple. “You two need to get some sleep before these angels wake you up at all hours screaming.” Hermione carried a semi alert Cicely to Hannah, “we are going to be here all day holding true to the family tradition. If you need us let us know.”

Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand as they walked out of the room, “I think I could sleep for days.” she said, yawning, “Join me?”

He picked her up and carried her all the way to her room. Hermione was laughing the entire time and screamed as he tossed her on her bed. He kicked off his shoes and got in the bed beside Hermione wrapping his arms around her. She pulled the covers over them and breathed a sigh of relief. She kissed him one final time before surrendering to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Saturday!!!!


	15. Chapter 15 - Welcome to the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise extra chapter this week, I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> I can't even begin to thank Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3)!!!!! She freaken rocks and I am going to finish out this story by the end of 2020!!!!! I am writing the final 1 to 2 chaps now!!!!

Chapter 15

“Hermione,” Harry whispered in her ear.

“Mornings suck,” Hermione turned away from him.

He whispered in her ear again, “good morning, beautiful.”

“No morning,” She groaned and turned over, grabbing the pillow to put over her face. She closed her eyes trying to will herself back to sleep.

Harry ran his hand up and down her sides. Her eyes flew open as his touch lit her body on fire. She flung the pillow at him. Harry deflected the pillow to the floor with a karate chop.

“You are certainly not a morning person my Love, punching and now throwing a pillow at me. But as much as I want to laze around in bed and see what trouble we can get into, we need to get up. Does the knowledge that coffee is on the table by the fire help? 

Hermione slowly opened her eyes and batted her eyelashes at him, “five more minutes, Mister?”

Harry grabbed the covers and pulled them off in one fell swoop. She groaned and closed her eyes in stubbornness.

“You know I know your weakness.” He hopped up on his knees and hovered over her.

“Yea a green-eyed wizard laying in my bed.” 

Hermione let out a giggle as he found the ticklish spot. This position gave him the perfect opportunity to find more spots to torture her with. He tickled the spot above her hip bones and she let out a shriek, “Ah!” 

He cut her off with a kiss.

“You’ll become a morning person, don't you worry.” he caressed her face and kissed her cheek, “it's coffee time and then party planning.” 

He very reluctantly got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

Hermione watched him walk into her bathroom like this was just an everyday normal occurrence. His kisses turned her logical mind off and she was perfectly content to just watch him.

“You best get your behind up, Hermione.” Harry pointed at her in the mirror where he could see her still laying on the bed staring at him. 

Last night had been the best sleep of his life, and that vixen laying in her bed looking so damn good was toying with the plan that he had cooked up with Ginny the night before. 

“Fine Potter, I am getting up. You best share that sink,” she said as she got out of bed.

She looked down and noticed the wrinkles from sleeping in her robes and sighed, “oh fun wrinkles.”

Talila popped into the room, “Miss I can fix the robes, don't you worry. You just put them in the laundry and I will take care of it. Master Harry asked me to find you a suitable dress for today and I am going to go work on making you a new one now. Let me know if you need anything.”

Hermione was trying to connect all the things she was saying, “okay, wait why do I need a dress? Talila I have dresses you don't -”

Harry walked out and put his finger over her lips, “she wants to make you a dress, let her make you a dress, Hermione. Talila has great tastes and we are going to have a fun party today as godmother you gotta dress up. And Talila is your house-elf who wants to help you and I think she gets that you won't want her to do everything, so let her do these things to feel useful and loved.” 

Talila had popped out of the room during that conversation. Hermione walked to the bathroom shaking her head at the conspiring between Talila and Harry. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. She changed into a pair of athletic shorts and a Melbourne Demons jersey and joined Harry on the couch. He handed her a cup of coffee and pointed at the pastries.

“Day-old pocket pies are my favorite.” She took a bite and it was just as good as it had been the day before. “Do the mother and father know about said party?”

Harry nodded, “So there is this pureblood tradition that we are participating in. We, as family, stay with the new parents for the first day of the child’s life. This is to bring luck, joy, and honor to the family. One of our responsibilities today is to throw an introduction party so that they can introduce the child to their family and select friends. They will then stay the rest of the night since they are the community that will be around the girls.” He took a bite of his pastry and a sip of coffee.

He continued, “I called Ginny yesterday afternoon and she is inviting the people Neville told me to. So you and I will get the formal living room set up so that mom and dad can sit while everyone comes to them and we will be the hosts of the party.”

Hermione nodded through this, “that is fantastic, Harry. I guess the dress will be nice to have for the party.”

Harry laughed and they talked about what they needed to set up for the party while they ate their breakfast. Hermione poured a second cup of coffee and stared into the fire going silent.

Harry reached over and kissed her cheek, “a knut for your thoughts?”

“I was just thinking that I need to go to Harwood manor sooner rather than later since I want to accept my inheritance. After last night, I feel such a connection like this is where I belong--” she stopped and set down the cup and turned to Harry, “I was wondering if you could go with me? I don't want to go alone.”

Harry placed his hand on her shoulder, “I understand Hermione, believe me. That ceremony showed you everything you have here.” He gently kissed her, “I am over the moon that you are staying and I will do anything to help you with the inheritance and journal search. I have a few meetings at work tomorrow that I won't be able to move, so I am thinking we go on Wednesday?”

“That sounds perfect.” she kissed him on his cheek happy to have him join her, “I am glad to finally feel home, like not just here at the manor but with you and the family and everything here in England. I missed everyone so much and you.”

Harry cheekily grinned, “I am the best boyfriend ever, right?”

“You are the best man that this girl could ever ask for. And this girl is never letting you go. I mean Harry, that library is so breathtaking.” She laughed as Harry leaned over to kiss her.

“Does it freak you out that all this happened so fast?” Harry had thought they would take things slowly but she was here in England after four years and he wanted to savor every moment with this woman in his arms. She made him feel like he could fly.

She pulled at his collar to pull him closer to her, “HB and I talked about that same thing yesterday and you know what I don't give a crap how little or long time has passed. I am going to follow what feels right. Harry, I think this has been a long time coming and we have known each other forever.” She cupped his face with her hands, “I am safe with you. I love you more than I ever thought I could.”

Harry pulled Hermione into his lap and looked into those brown eyes that enthralled him, “I love you, Hermione.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was finding it hard to keep the surprise part of the party from Hermione. He told Neville that she was accepting her inheritance and staying in England and the two of them agreed that this would be a welcome party to the family for Hermione and the twins. 

Harry was glad when she told him that her parents were going to come over early so she could talk to them so he could get things really ready.

Hermione’s phone went off, “looks like they are on their way.” She kissed his cheek and skipped out of the room. 

“Hey you,” Jean said as she stepped out of the fireplace and wrapped her daughter in a hug. 

She admired the purple tea dress that Hermione was wearing, “pretty dress, I did not see that in your closet.”

“Talila made it. I swear she wants to redo my entire wardrobe.” She spun around, the dress twirled around her, “if she can make dresses like this, I will certainly let her.”

Jean laughed, “good, I wholly approve of that idea. I will help. Speaking of clothes,” she held up a bag, “I cannot wait to see these grandbabies and to spoil them so rotten.” 

Hermione gave her dad a hug and led them into the dining room. They sat down at the table and Talila popped into the room and started serving the tea.

“Good afternoon, Mister and Missus Grangers. Enjoy your tea.”

“Thank you Talila.” Jean smiled at the elf. “I love the dress you made Hermione.”

Talila smiled at her and popped out of the room.

“I wanted to talk to you two about something before the party gets started,” Hermione started.

“What's wrong lovely? Was it that boy Potter? Did he do something?”

Hermione laughed, “Dad, Harry is perfect and has done nothing wrong. Well, except waking me up too damn early this morning. I wanted to talk to you about the inheritance. Hannah asked Harry and me to be the twins' godparents and of course, we said yes. The house-elves were doing this family bonding ritual for the new life joining the family and I participated in it. Everything feels so right and I feel like I am truly back where I belong and I just can't imagine leaving all of this. So I am going to accept it and deal with all of the strings attached with everyone by my side.” 

Edward had a very serious expression on his face. “Hermione, I am glad that you came to this choice on your own. Whether your last name is Granger, Harwood, or I think in a shorter time than I am ready for, Potter, you are my girl and nothing will ever change that.”

“And we wanted to move back for good anyways, Love,” Jean added with a grin, “but we were not going to leave you.” 

They continued to enjoy their tea as Hermione explained more details about the bonding ritual. Jean and Edward were fascinated by magic and Hermione loved sharing it with them.

Jean finished her tea first and stood up from the table, she walked around and kissed Hermione on the top of her head, “Love you, Hermione. I am going to go find Harry and help him decorate, you two enjoy some more tea.” She walked through the house and found Harry writing on a banner.

Harry turned around quickly trying to hide what was behind it. He let out a deep breath when he saw that it was Jean, “oh good your not Hermione.”

Jean laughed and then saw the banner, “Oh, Harry…” He was writing ‘Welcome Cicely, Chloe, and Hermione to the family’.

“Can you possibly distract Hermione until the party? I hear that Hannah may need some help with the girls? I really want to surprise her… she said she was going to stay and… I am so happy and I know everyone else will be too.”

Jean nodded, “I am so happy to, Harry. Yes, I can certainly keep her distracted for you.” Jean walked over to him and hugged him, “I love you so much Harry and I am so glad that you two are finally together. Now off to distract my daughter.”

Harry nodded and turned back around to keep painting the banner.

Jean skipped back into the dining room as the two finished their tea, “Harry has assigned us the difficult task of helping Hannah dress our girls.” She held up the bag, “So let's go you two.”

Hermione quickly tried to change the plan, “you two go up and help Hannah, I can help Harry.”

Jean grabbed Hermione’s hand and led her towards the stairs, “nope that is not the plan so follow your mommy like the obedient daughter I raised.”

“Obedient my ass.” Edward followed them up the stairs laughing.

Jean winked at him conspiratorially. He shook his head, his wife was anything but subtle.

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hannah was becoming quickly overwhelmed as she tried to figure out what to dress the girls in. They purchased a lot of baby clothing, most were unisex and not too many fancy items. They had received gifts of dresses, collar shirts, and even a little tuxedo. But Hannah hated all of them. The dresses were too frilly or not the right color. None of it felt right for her daughters.

Neville set Cicely down in her bassinet and walked over to Hannah standing by the closet. He started rubbing her back as she threw her hands in the air.

“We have nothing.” She was trying to fight the tears from falling.

Jean walked into the nursery and saw Hannah start crying, “oh, no dear what’s wrong?”

“We don't have anything for the girls to wear,” she said through the tears, “I hate these dresses that people gave us and these hormones and I just want something pretty and nothing is right.”

Jean held up a bag in her hand, “I have been collecting some cute dresses and outfits for you. I hope--”

Hannah moved over to Jean’s outstretched arms sobbing in relief. Jean handed the bag to Hermione and wrapped her arms around Hannah, “we’ve got you, Hannah. We are here to take care of you. I have lots of pretty dresses in all colors. I think you’ll find something you love. If not love, we have magic.”

Neville mouthed ‘thank you’ to Jean.

Edward had already walked over to the bassinet and saw the little bundles of joy awake and staring at the ceiling, “well aren't you just the cutest little girls in the whole world. You remind me of my little girl.” Edward got a little choked up. Seeing the girls brought back memories of Hermione in his arms, once in the hospital and once at the foster care office.

Hermione started emptying the bag of clothes and started setting them on hangers. She used magic to make them float in the air so that Hannah could see all of the clothes. Hermione loved her mother's taste in clothes. She had purchased and gathered dresses, jumpers, skirts, and other feminine clothes in all sorts of colors. There were at least thirty different outfits in the bag.

Hermione reached the end of the bag and the bows and headbands filled the bottom, “Oh, mum these are so cute.” Hermione set the bows on the changing table and grabbed her wand. 

She took two of the flower headbands over to the side table and worked to transfigure the generic rose into the flowers the girls were named after. Cicely was named after an herb that was used in medicines that had bunches of white flowers clustered on the top of the plant. They were elegant and understated and grew wild. She made a large bunch of white flowers on the headband and added the greenery around them. 

Chloe was named after a type of infinity rose. Hermione had seen them along the perimeter of the manor. They must have been a favorite flower of the couple since there were bouquets of them around the house in every hue. She made three small roses on the headband in varying hues of yellow, an ode to her mother's favorite color. She turned to Hannah, who was smiling looking at all of the dresses.

“Hey Hannah, will this work?” Hermione held up the headbands.

Neville turned and his mouth dropped, “of course you figured out the meanings.” He wrapped Hermione in a hug as Hannah delicately took the headbands with a huge smile on her face.

Edward had picked up each of the girls and snuggled them, “Poppa loves both of you, little girls.”

He clapped Neville on the back, “your baby girls are sweet. I am going to head downstairs and help Harry finish setting up. Neville, I had some questions for you, is it okay if I steal you away?”

Hannah laughed, “I have my ladies here to help me get our girls ready Nev, go check on Harry and make sure he isn't making a mess of my living room.” Her smile lit the room and Neville followed Edward out of the room. 

“Thank you, Jean, I stood here like what kind of mother am I that I have no cute clothes for my girls. You did so well picking out everything, you make such an amazing Grandmother and I haven't even asked you if you wanted--” Hannah saw the look of love on Jean’s face that answered that question.

Jean picked up Cicely, “Mimsey is here for you little one,” she touched the baby's nose and moved to Chloe, “and you too, my little one.”

“So which dresses?” Hermione grinned at her mother doting on the girls.

Hannah walked around looking at all of the clothes that Jean had picked out. “These are amazing. Jean, I am so touched you did this for me.” 

Chloe started to fuss and Hermione moved to grab her and walked around bouncing her.

Hannah stared critically at the clothes, “I know for sure that I want to do dresses. I think that blue dress would match the bow for Cicely perfect. And I don't want to be all matchy, and--” she grabbed two of the dresses, “okay Mimsey and Auntie you get to choose the white dress or the green one?”

Hermione walked around looking at the dresses and the little girl in her arms, “the white one, it has little roses all over it. Mother, how did you find all of this?”

“I concur, the white one and oh daughter of mine, I have been collecting boy and girl clothes for weeks after Molly told me that Hannah was expecting. I got that white one from Betsy in Australia. Your dad thought I was insane. I have a whole bag of boy's clothes for whoever has a boy next. I love shopping for baby clothes.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Neville joined the girls back upstairs a short time later. 

“I am going to find your dad.” Jean whispered in Hermione’s ear, “please stay up here.” 

“Yea yea, I know you're hiding something mother. But, I will humor you.” 

Jean laughed as she walked out of the room.

“So did you guys get any sleep last night?” Hermione put the rest of the clothes in the closet while Neville and Hannah dressed the girls. 

Hannah nodded. “The elves insisted on us getting sleep, they kept coming in and switching shifts holding the girls. It helps them form bonds with them. Thankfully my midwife and those postpartum potions help speed up the healing process for my body and magic. But I desperately need sleep for the potions to take full effect. Oh, Hermione, Meemy is such a character, that little elf sat in that room all night making sure that we got to sleep and that all of the elves got their time. I had to remind her this morning that she needed sleep too.”

Hermione laughed. “I bet she was. Talila and I talked this morning and she told me all about her time with them. She was beaming. I love that little elf so much.”

“See Hannah, told you it would take Talila less than two weeks to worm her way into Hermione’s heart.” Neville turned to her, “So anything you want to tell us about that purple and yellow light last night?”

Hermione grinned at the couple, “I think you know Neville, I am accepting the inheritance. My family is here and I won’t leave.”

Hannah set Cicely down and spun in a circle and ended in a high-five with Neville, “YES.” She startled Chloe who burst into tears, “oh little miss I am sorry. I was just so happy your Auntie is staying.” She picked her up and soothed her daughter.

Neville picked up Cicely as Hannah calmed down her twin. The three of them headed out of the room to the murmur of all of the people gathered downstairs.

Neville stopped Hermione before she could run down the stairs first. “Hey, cousin, this party is not just for the girls.” She saw the banner hanging over the living room.

It said: Welcome to the family Cicely, Chloe, and Hermione!

Everyone watched as the three of them made their way down to the party. Talila and Harry were standing at the back of the room watching the look of surprise on her face. Hermione met Harry’s eyes and she knew why he had insisted that she dress up. This party was for her too. Hermione’s smile lit up the room. Everyone formed a walkway for the parents to the living room and the small get together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Harry stayed close to the entrance of the living room and would let people go in as others left. She mingled and caught up with the friends that were there. It had only been two weeks since they got together at Molly’s but somehow it felt like a lifetime ago.

Hermione and Ginny planned to go shopping the next week for her dress fitting and to search for Hermione’s dress. Hermione gave Ginny an abbreviated version of the happenings and Ginny made her promise to share all of the details on their shopping date.

By the end of the night, all of the guests were all sitting in the living room enjoying the small plate delights that the house-elves prepared for the night. The highlight in Hannah’s opinion was the sushi, it had been far too long since she had it. Hermione and Harry sat on the couch beside Hannah and Neville, the place of honor. 

The house-elves passed out sparkling juice to everyone for the toast, Neville stood up and handed Chloe to Hermione to hold while he spoke, “thank you, everyone, for coming to our family’s introduction of our little girls Cicely Alice and Chloe Ally Longbottom. These two little girls are not even a day old and already have their daddy wrapped around their fingers.” He looked back at Hannah, “they are every bit as beautiful as their mother and will be just as fierce.”

Everyone raised their glasses and took a drink. 

Neville put his hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “and we also wanted to introduce this lovely lady sitting beside us here too. You all may know her as the Brave Heroine, the brains of the Golden Trio, and that know-it-all Granger.” 

Draco snorted into his cup and Neville laughed.

“Hannah and I have gotten to know her on a different level since she returned to England. It has been a whirlwind that it has been less than a month since Draco informed us that I may still have a blood relative alive. Thanks, man.” He tipped his head at Draco who raised his glass.

“I was even more shocked when I learned that my cousin was Hermione. You see she was the girl in my first year that helped me search for my lost frog the entire train ride to school. She was also the person who petrified me in our first year when I tried to stop the three crazy ones from losing more house points.” 

Neville smiled at Hermione. “Now she has been back to England and it felt like she never left. And now I can happily introduce you to her as a member of our family and yea that is right she is staying in England.”

Hermione turned and smiled at everyone. She was glad that Neville did the speech, she did not know what to say. She preferred to be sitting on the couch with Harry beside her and Chloe in her arms. Everyone around them looked around shocked by the announcement.

Draco broke the silence, “it’s about damn time Granger.” 

Everyone quietly celebrated by clinking their glasses together. This night could not get any better. At nine forty-six that night everyone joined hands and with that the magic of the day was complete. Hermione and Harry took over hosting duties while Neville, Hannah, and the twins headed to bed.

Hermione checked in with Meemy to make sure that they did not need any more help. Meemy reassured her that she would reach out if they needed anything. She walked back into the hallway and yawned. Sirius and Harry were waiting for her at the entrance near the fireplace. 

“I am so glad you are staying, I--” Sirius' voice got choked up at the end and she hugged him.

“Want to take a break tomorrow and spend the day with your favorite sister?” Hermione asked. 

Sirius nodded, “sounds perfect.”

“Okay one last thing, Talila,” she popped into the room, “we are going to go back to Grimmauld Place, that's where I am staying for now until I figure out where I will be living permanently, I guess. Do you want to come with us or stay here?”

“Mistress I will join you there. Master Sirius has given me a room at his manor to make my own and I will happily live wherever you do. I will see you at home and make you some nighttime tea?”

Hermione nodded 

Sirius laughed, “I love that little elf, she is a hoot.” And with that they flooed back home.

~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Chapter ~~~~~~~~~~~~


	16. Chapter 16 - Tea and Tears

So many thanks to Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help!!!!!!

Can you believe it is November already? I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 16

Hermione stared at the ceiling for what had to be the fiftieth time that morning. Harry left an hour earlier to go to his morning meetings. She tossed and turned for the next hour. 

She didn’t realize how quickly she had become used to him sleeping beside her. She finally got up and dressed.

She knocked on Sirius’ door and with no response headed downstairs.

“Morning Sirius.”

“Morning Grangey girl, good you are dressed.” Sirius grabbed her arm and led her to the door. “We are off to the wax museum, because why not look at creepy statues this morning. Then lunch-time afternoon tea at Claridge’s.”

Hermione laughed, “Sounds perfect but you better be getting me coffee first.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sharply dressed server wheeled over the art deco inspired tea cart. The tea room was classic British elegance with a pop of teal to bring in the art deco fun. The table settings were fancy china striped green and white and the teapots and cups on the tray matched the table settings.

The server opened the first pot and showed the contents to her, “English Breakfast Tea for you miss.” He replaced the lid and then opened the second showing it to Sirius. “And sir yours is the Cloud Tea.”

Hermione was so content. She had not had a proper tea time in so long. “That looks amazing, Josh.”

He nodded his head and poured the tea into the cups, “I will pour the hot water for your second cup.” He poured additional hot water into the pots and replaced the lids.

He placed the teacups on the table in front of them and the teapots to the side. “Please enjoy.”

“Thank you,” she said as he walked away from the table.

Hermione added milk and a sugar cube to her cup.

A different server brought over their first course of tea sandwiches and Hermione’s mouth watered as she stared at rectangle crustless sandwiches set on the plate. She pondered which to grab from the salmon, chicken, classic cucumber, and one she did not recognize. She looked at the menu and realized that it was the house special duck and shallot sandwich. She grabbed it and took a bite.

“Here is to you, Hermione.” Sirius raised his sandwich and tapped it against hers in cheers.

“Thanks, Sirius. I have been going about a mile a minute for the last two weeks and it is nice to just have a day of something completely normal. The last few days have really been a whirlwind.” She took a sip of her tea, loving its rich flavor. 

Afternoon tea had been a regular occurrence for Sirius and Hermione after the war. They went to tea rooms at least two to three times a week. It was something so normal to ground themselves in when she lived in England.

“I think the Tea Room Challenge has officially restarted. And now we shall try every tea room in London,” Sirius declared.

Hermione nodded in agreement, “We have lots of time to make up for.”

“We don't have to make up any time, we are just continuing on, Hermione. And don't worry, I have not cheated on you with any other tea rooms. I have only visited the ones we had been to. But oh my I have been craving something different. Claridges was first on that list because this place is exquisite.”

“As you know from that terrible experience on your first trip to Australia, I have not had a proper tea in ages.”

They ate their tea sandwiches and moved to the scones and clotted cream. “So you’re officially a god-mother. Welcome to the club,” said Sirius. 

“My girls are so sweet and I always wanted to be someone’s Auntie and God-Mother. I am going to be the best that I can be.” She smiled.

Hermione broke open her scone and smelled the delicious scent. She proceeded to spread an obscene amount of clotted cream on each half of her scone.

Sirius grabbed the cream to add some to his scone before she ate it all.

“Those girls are lucky, Hermione, lucky. And you are too. So changing gears, did you end up finding all the journals?”

Hermione sighed. “Not yet, and it's a bit frustrating but to be expected. Talila said that we would probably have to go to Harwood manor to find the rest. It has been fun getting to know Allison and Alice, I feel a kinship with them and see a lot of what I do in them. It's kind of strange.”

She finished her scone. “I hope her later year journals have more clues to the burning question that has been left unanswered. I want to know who my biological father is. I am so damn curious.” Hermione finished her tea.

The server came over, “May I pour you another cup?”

Hermione nodded. “But I get his and he gets mine, please.” 

He proceeded to pour their second cups of tea. “Would you like me to prepare another pot of tea?”

“Can you get us a chai and surprise us with another flavor that would go well with the desserts?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, miss. I will do that.” He took the teapots away.

“I am not surprised the question is bugging you, Hermione. You can’t leave questions unanswered. But girl, you know that you may not find the answer.”

“Yea I keep preparing myself to be left with the question unanswered.” She dropped her eyes. “But I won't give up until I have exhausted every source I can. Plus in the meantime, I get to explore some beautiful libraries.” 

Sirius grabbed another scone and spread the special Marco Polo gelée all over his scone, “ I bet your reading list has skyrocketed out of control.”

“Yes, it has. The Potter Library is breathtaking. I haven't even started a to-read list for that library.”

“Bet the guy next to you made that library your favorite.”

“True to that,” she laughed. Her expression turned serious. “But I am feeling a bit lost thinking towards the future and being here permanently. And then I find myself missing my Codex. I loved going to work every day and it was something new and a challenge. From the crazy customers to the search for that perfect book, it’s what I love doing. I know I am technically on vacation but--”

“Your mind never stops, does it, Hermione?” Sirius said. “Actually I have an idea about that. What about Flourish and Blotts and Mauve and Pops?” 

Hermione quickly added, “Harry told me about them in terms of his adopted grandparents. He also told me that Mauve has thrown some of the best parties on their anniversary and they always have a literary theme. Apparently, A Winter's Tale is the theme for this year.”

“Yes, it is going to be amazing. Mauve made Harry read the book before you came back. But speaking of the shop, I am sure they would love your help. While it is not the Hidden Codex, it is still--”

“My favorite bookshop that I don't own, Sirius. I fell in love with my Codex because it reminded me of Flourish and Blotts. Oh, it would be so fun to help them out, well if they need or want my help.” Hermione was trying not to get her hopes up.

“I am sure they will, they love sharing the written word as much as you do. You are a kindred book-loving soul. So stop worrying about how you are going to keep busy, you have a mystery to solve, a manor to explore, two nieces to spoil rotten, a crazy Potter boy to keep in line, and of course, you have to spend time with your favorite person,” he pointed at himself with a grin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night Hermione found herself with nothing to do so she decided to venture out and explore the neighborhood. She made her way out of the neighborhood and quickly blended into the hustle and bustle.

Hermione walked until she smelled the heavenly scents of frying fish and chips. She went inside the fry shop and got her meal to go. She enjoyed her piping hot fish and perfectly seasoned chips on her walk up Barnsbury road and past the park that she and Harry had their first date at. 

She continued and found herself at the entrance of Barnard Park. She threw out her trash and walked through the park, gathering her thoughts surrounded by trees and flowers. One of the flower beds was done in all teal flowers, Hermione loved how botanists were able to get the colors without using magic.

Unexpectedly, she found herself missing her teal house, the opportunities she had to take long walks along the beach where she could mentally getaway. Hermione had never thought of herself as a beach person. She never liked going when she was a kid. But now she was a beach bum, after living on the coast for four years. 

Hermione knew that she would have to go back many times to her house to bury her toes in the warm sand and play in the water. Maybe, when her search was over, she could take Harry back to Australia and show him her home and the Hidden Codex.

She was nervous and excited about the trip to the Harwood manor the next day. It was a huge step she was taking and was glad that Harry would be by her side. Going to the manor was the next step for the research and what she considered the first step towards accepting the family title. But she was worried about the trauma that had happened the last time Talila had been there. She hoped that Gringotts had cleaned up the home from the attack.

She started back to Grimmauld Place taking a different route. Her mind wandered back to Allison and her unknown biological father. While Hermione wholly believed that nurture over nature shaped her into the woman that she was, she knew that there was a genetic component in her magic that she had been ever curious about.

Allison had been a master at charms and spell writing from a very young age. This was a combination of her early education combined with natural talent. Hermione had been good at charms but not at the level that she read about in the journals. She felt like her aptitude for spell writing probably came from Allison.

The more curious thing for Hermione was that she was naturally adept at wandless magic. She learned that that component of her magic had a direct connection to her biology. This made no sense during school when she thought she was a muggle-born witch but, had kept those thoughts to herself. Her power only grew stronger and stronger while she was in Australia and learned about their unique forms of magic. Most of the tribes did not use a wand as a focus for magic and helped her learn how to do complicated magic wandlessly.

Neither Alice nor Allison wrote about using wandless magic much. Deduction led her to think that it came from her mysterious biological father's side. This question was driving her mental and she hoped that tomorrow’s trip would help her to answer at least some of her questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Talila was up early and in the kitchen preparing breakfast for her Mistress and Master Potter. She was in her element that morning making quiche, fruit salad, and tea. She started making coffee for her Mistress. She set the drinks on the table as Hermione made her way downstairs. 

She sat at the table while Talila served food for each of them, “Mistress I hope that you are okay with me making breakfast. I know that you are not a morning person and I do love cooking.”

“That's an understatement Talila,” Harry said walking into the room. Hermione threw a napkin at him

“Hush you, and Talila, I appreciate that because I am not a morning person.”

Talila set out the two sauces she had made to accompany the quiche and sat down at the table next to Hermione. She felt like such a proud elf. She was with her Hermione and life was good.

“Did you want me to accompany you to the Manor today?” Talila nervously asked.

“Yes, I had hoped that you would Talila.” Hermione turned to her, “I know the last time you were there was terrible, so I didn’t want to assume.”

Talila nodded quickly. “I will go with you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Harry grabbed Talila’s hand and they were whisked away to the Norfolk coast of England. Hermione was speechless at the massive estate that sprawled out in front of her. They stood In front of a fountain that was shooting water onto a scene of what looked to be greek gods fighting a sea monster.

“Welcome to the Harwood Manor or known to the muggles, Holkham Hall,” Talila said with a nervous look on her face.

Hermione focused on the vista of the house. It looked so regal and aristocratic. The front entrance had columns like the Parthenon adorning it. From there it spread into two wings that extended for a distance to the left and right of the house. Hermione couldn't move from her spot, she was in such awe at the house. This was her family's home?

Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand and stood there with her in silence, letting her take in the sweeping vistas. Harry decided to take this moment to tell Hermione more about the manor's history.

“So I have done some research into the manor, Hermione.” Harry started and Hermione nodded for him to continue. “So the house has a magical and muggle side to it. Your great great many generations back to the 1800’s grandparents wanted to share these beautiful grounds with the locals. The property has been open to the public for at least one hundred years and over the last twenty has seen an explosion in business.” He pointed to the car park to the left of the entrance and the troves of people milling about the grounds, “The public gardens and public side of the house they can explore. The goblins have kept both sides of the house well taken care of. They hired a muggle management company to handle that side and your Gringotts goblin handles the upkeep of the magical side of the house.”

He stopped for a moment to let all that sink in.

“I think we should start at the main entrance and go into the residential area. No muggles and no one that is not blood-family or who you deem as family can see this section of the house.” Harry turned to Talila, “Do you want to lead the way Talila?”

Talila nodded hesitantly, “Please follow me, Mistress.”

Hermione held onto Harry’s hand tight, as they walked into the elaborate marble entrance and through a door that appeared out of nowhere. Talila let the couple enter the house ahead of her and closed the door.

Hermione let out a deep breath as Talila magically opened the windows of the entrance hall. For as grand, as the outside looked, the inside looked to be more subdued and minimalist. Most of the furniture looked to be sparse and what was out was out of date but, well cared for. She did not move from the spot trying to get her bearings straight.

“Talila, can you please take us on a tour?” Hermione asked.

“Of course, Mistress Hermione.” She started taking them from room to room on the first floor of the manor. It looked like the mess from the attack had been cleaned up and the rooms looked devoid of the life that Hermione had read about in the women’s journals.

Hermione could see that Talila was getting sadder and sadder as they walked through the house. The main family living area was in a two-story central block of rooms and small courtyards. Flanking the main area were smaller wings that held staterooms and other less-used rooms. They ended the tour in the basement of the main living area where the library was located.

Talila led her and Harry over to a table at the entrance of the library. “This is the last room in the house. It was Mistress Allison’s favorite.”

The library went down at least two stories into the ground and had bookshelves as far as the eye could see. Hermione noticed that Talila was looking run down. She stopped at the table before they could move around the library and asked everyone to sit down.

“I think we all need a break and maybe a snack?” Hermione thought asking Talila to get them something would cheer her up.

Talila instantly looked at Hermione with a smile, “I can make us a snack back at Grimmauld Place, please give me a few minutes and I will be right back.”

Hermione grabbed her hand, “Please take your time, can you give us like ten or fifteen minutes?”

Talila nodded and pointed to a door on the west side of the library, “Miss Alice and Allison used the room over there as their study room and kept all of their precious things there, I think you will find the journals in there. I will be back soon, Mistress.” She popped out of the room.

“Did you see the look on her face as we walked through this house? Harry I never ever want to bring her back here, ever again.” Hermione angrily wiped tears from her cheeks.

Harry nodded, “this house is so stark and devoid of all life. It's like no family has ever lived here. I agree about Talila, I mean the last time she was here her family was attacked. Everyone was killed while she had been forced to run. I am not surprised she is feeling that way. I feel that same way about Godric's Hollow and I don't have a full recollection of living there.”

“And then this--”, she pointed to a pair of solid gold lion statues at the entrance to the library. The pair stood over ten feet tall and each held a shield. One shield had an owl and the other an otter. The animals were inlaid with precious stones like sapphire, ruby, and emeralds. The Harwood Family was engraved around the bases.

“What in the bloody hell is that? How the hell did people live in these houses? This place looks like a bloody museum, stuck in time.”

“You feel like you are an aristocratic ninny when you think about this house don't ya,” Harry said point-blank.

Hermione nodded, “Bougie. That is the only word I know. My parents as dentists afforded us a nice house in a nice neighborhood and you grew up in a freaken cupboard under the stairs. How the hell do we go from living in a shithole,” she pointed at him and then to herself, “And modest to this?” 

She realized what she had said about the cupboard and stopped her rant.

Harry let out the loudest laugh she had heard that day.

“My, my, I sure have come far from my shithole to Potter Manor.”

“I am so sorry Harry, that was so inconsiderate…” 

Hermione put her head in her hands not happy with the way she had just handled that. 

Harry shrugged, “Hermione.”

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, “I did grow up in a shithole and I won't ever take offense to you saying that. I worked through my issues. Don't feel guilty. Plus, now I totally see how Draco became the asshat that he was in school? Can you imagine being raised living in a house like this?”

Something about that made Hermione laugh too. 

She tried to imagine what would have happened had she been raised in this house. “Can you imagine a slicked back hair Hermione flaunting her way through Hogwarts like she owned the damn place? That is how I could have ended up.” Hermione shook her head and smiled at him.

“There's that smile that I love. So I have had a lot of time to think about these old manors and their purpose. We have lived pretty “normal” lives, well whatever normal was for our group. I can’t imagine you ever feeling like this is your home. Hell, that is why my parents lived at Godric's Hollow, they didn’t want this lifestyle. Just because you are accepting this inheritance, you don't have to change everything about you. And you most certainly do not need to live in this mausoleum to the past. And just because I live in Potter manor does not mean that I am some old ponce who flaunts his money around. I chose to live at the Potter manor because it brings me closer to the family that I never knew. We make what we are going to be Hermione, as we always have.”

Hermione let out a breath she had been holding, “So shall we try to find those journals and then get the hell out of here. I really just want to go back home to Potter Manor.”

Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her up into his arms, “Of course but first, I have to kiss my beautiful bookwyrm in every library we walk into. I just can't help it.”

Hermione winked at him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her. Hermione felt drunk whenever he kissed her and melted in his arms. Harry broke the kiss and smiled at the look of contentment on her face.

They started walking towards the study room.

“Harry, why do you keep saying bookwyrm?”

Harry grabbed her hand, “Because you are not a tiny little worm, you are a true lover of books and what is more covetous of knowledge than the fabled bookwyrm dragon. Plus it sounds pretty badass in my opinion.”

“I like that. May have to get a dragon tattoo to join the phoenix.” She winked at him, “maybe you can get one too.”

Harry laughed, “If I could ever decide what I want to get.”

They entered the study and found the one room in the house that had not been cleaned up by the ministry officials after the attack. It was still torn apart and ransacked by the Deatheaters that had murdered Allison and her parents. They walked slowly into the room, moving around the toppled over furniture, torn upholstery, and papers scattered about.

Hermione sighed, “Well isn’t this a freaken mess.”

They started searching around the room, Harry looking in the bookcase and Hermione started going through the built in desk. She recognized Allison’s writing on the papers strewn around the desk and smiled. This room may be a mess but this was the only room in the house that she felt Allison in. She sat down at the desk and could imagine Allison sitting here writing her journals.

“I wonder if she had a secret hiding place.” Harry said, pulling the books off the shelves to see if there was a secret compartment.

“I would think so.” Hermione moved the papers to one side and noticed that ink had been spilled over the surface from the ransaking. She looked closely at that, and it had filled a small depression that would not have been noticeable without it. She pressed the depression and something clicked. A drawer opened at the bottom of the desk. 

“Well I found something.” She opened the drawer and there were three journals.

She held up the journals to Harry. “Well, that’s three more.” She looked at the years on the spines, “and of course it’s years five, six, and seven.” She sighed, “none of her post-school. Of course, this can never be that easy.”

“At least we have these to keep reading. Maybe she left a clue where those are.” 

“Yea I guess” She put the journals in her pocket.

She stood up and looked around the room taking all of it in. The attack looked so fresh in this room, she motioned around, “This Harry is what Allison saved me from.”

Harry wrapped his arms around her, “that is what mum’s do. She had to do it in her own way and gave you a wonderful life. I cannot imagine what would have happened had you been here.”

Before she could respond Talila popped back into the library.

“Mistress, I have snacks for us.”

“Coming Talila.” she grabbed Harry’s hand.

Harry closed the door as they exited, not wanting the house-elf to see the destruction in that room.

The duo joined her at the table. They drank the jasmine tea and ate the sugar cookies quickly, none of them wanting to stay in the house any longer than they had to.

As they walked through the main entrance of the house Talila tearfully stopped and looked back on the living area. 

Hermione crouched down in front of her, “Talila, do you want to talk to me?”

“Yes…” a tear fell from her eye, “I don’t want to live here, Mistress. This place is not the same. it's so empty and oh Mistress these halls are echoing with haunting memories. I just can't...”

Hermione hugged the crying elf, “Talila, please know this, I could never live here. This place feels so foreign to me. And even if I did, I would never ask you to come live in a place that has so much pain for you. You are family and we make decisions on where we live together.”

Talila’s sobs filled the hallway as she was finally able to mourn the loss of her family so many years before. The light in all of this was the witch sitting beside her holding her hand.

Talila quietly asked, “did you find the things you were looking for?”

Hermione stood up and nodded. “I found some more journals. Thank you for your help today, Talila. Shall we go home?”

Harry joined hands with Hermione and they apparated back to Potter Manor. So many thoughts were going through the trio’s mind from the visit to Harwood manor. 

Talila left to go visit Meemy and the twins to decompress. 

The couple spent the evening watching movies and wrapped in each other's arms.

~~~~~~~~~End of Chapter~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	17. Chapter 17 - So Close... Yet so Far Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the awesome Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help alphaing and betaing the last half of the fic!!!!!!!!
> 
> I wanted to surprise you with another chapter… its has been a roller coaster of a few weeks and I hope this chapter can bring a smile to your day!
> 
> Update - finishing chap 26 so officially there are 27 chapters to the story (27 is already written). I may do some one shots in the future… but for this story… it is almost done. My muse is sad but on to the next WIP after this. Please leave a review or kudos or favorite the story, they really do inspire me and make me smile!!!

Chapter 17

Hermione sat on her bed with the year seven journals floating in her book holders in front of her. She was reading them for the third time that day. She spent the last few hours going through each of the journals from year one to seven so she could try to piece the story together.

Unfortunately, Allison’s last three journals were the same as the years before. Hermione felt like she was going in circles. These journals did not help her get any closer to her answer. Alice’s stories were interwoven with Allison’s breakthroughs. But she realized that key pieces about Allison were left out since she did not write about her social life at Hogwarts. Alice would write stories about Allison but it was different being from Alice’s perspective. 

She let out a frustrated groan and grabbed the last two journals from the book holders. She wandlessly sent the books to the shelf with the other journals.

Hermione flopped back on the bed with a sigh and stared at the constellations on the ceiling pondering her next move.

A golden yellow owl flew into Hermione’s room and landed on Frankie’s perch and hooted at her. She got up from the bed and walked over to the perch. 

“Hey Kali,” she grabbed a treat from the shelf and handed it to the owl who happily took it and then offered her leg to Hermione.

Hermione untied the note and her heart fluttered when she saw Harry’s wax seal on it.

Frankie peeked open one eye and hooted at Hermione. She laughed and gave a treat to him, “you spoiled owl.”

Frankie moved over to make room for Kali on the perch near the water. Kali jumped up on the perch and puffed up. Frankie started preening her. Hermione was happy that her and Harry’s owls got along, Frankie could be a bit high strung. He was very much like his owner.

Hermione sat at the desk and opened the letter.

Hi Beautiful,

I am leaving work early and will come join you at Grimmauld Place. I had a feeling that you have buried yourself in those journals and not seen the light of day. I hope a second set of eyes will help and get you out of your beautiful head. If you would like company, send me a Patronus.”

Love,  
Harry.

Hermione sent her Patronus with a message, “I would welcome your company. Meet me in the library.”

She gave a few more treats to the owls and grabbed all of the journals, a notebook, and her wand. Hermione walked into the library and enlarged the notebook. She transfigured a chair into a stand and placed the journal notebook on it. 

She set the journals down on the table and was searching for markers when Harry walked into the library.

He set two two-go cups down on the table and a bag. “I figured you need some sustenance.”

“Thanks love.” Hermione grinned at him and opened the last drawer and found permanent markers, “finally, Sirius is so disorganized.”

Harry laughed and sat down on a chair near the notebook, Hermione walked over to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He hugged her with one arm and handed her the chai latte with the other.

“So, shall we get started on the timeline, Hermione? We have four hours before we get dinner. I made reservations for this ramen shop and we mustn't be late.”

Hermione laughed and Harry grabbed the markers from her hand, “you tell me the stories, I will write notes.”

Hermione proceeded to tell Harry all that she had learned from the journals. She focused mainly on the stories from Alice’s journals since Allison’s were just about her special projects. She told him about birthdays, celebrations, Hogsmeade weekends, and other events that made their world come to life.

Harry summarized the stories she told.

They attended Hogwarts from 1969 - 1976  
Alice journals = stories about their time at Hogwarts  
Allison = research and special projects  
Journals start out light and towards the end go dark because of the war.  
Allison was sorted into Ravenclaw and Alice was sorted into Gryffindor. - Alice did not know who Allison had been friends with at Hogwarts.  
Allison went to Hogsmeade weekends with Alice and Lilly’s friends.  
Alice and Allison ate breakfast together every day to have some twin time but did not socially hang out since their classes and schedules were different.  
Alice suspected Allison had been friends with the Marauders, given that she would see the boys and Allison working on projects together. Followup: send owl to Remus  
Allison mainly spent time in the library or in special tutoring classes with professors.  
After Hogwarts:  
Lilly, James, Sirius, Alice, Frank, and many others joined the Auror Corps,  
Allison had been asked to be a special researcher for the Order of the Phoenix to find out information for the fight against Voldermort.

“Okay, Hermione, we are done for the night, you are on information overload and my hand is done writing notes.” Harry laughed at the disgruntled look on her face.

“We are almost done with the last journal.”

“No, if’s and’s or but's unless it’s your sexy one I see walking out of this library. We have reservations and you need a break.” Harry stood up and grabbed the last journal out of her hand.

“Dear, we can always finish tomorrow after my morning meetings. Meet me at the manor and we can finish up.”

Hermione stood up from the couch and hugged him. “Thanks and sorry I get wrapped up in my head. This whole puzzle is making me feel a bit crazy. I am getting too hyper-focused.”

“I am not surprised and that is what I am here for. Now, let's go.”

They left Grimmauld Place and quickly walked into Monohon Ramen. They entered the shop and were immediately engulfed in the smell of broth and noodles.

She grinned at Harry as they took their seat, “this place smells amazing, Harry.”

“Good evening, Harry and his beautiful date,” A woman behind the counter greeted and motioned for them to take the two empty stools. 

“Hey, Beth. Looks busy tonight,” Harry said looking around the small dining room.

“Just how I love it. I will grab you some water.”

Harry grinned at Hermione, “Thanks, Beth.” Harry turned to Hermione and quietly explained, “Beth used to live in Japan and went to Mahoutokoro school. Yes, she is a witch and she loved cooking. So she learned from the ramen masters there. She brought it all back here and opened up this place a month ago.”

“That's why I saved you the best seats in the house.” Beth laughed, “would you guys like a tasting menu tonight?”

Hermione smiled, “that sounds good to me, then I don't have to choose. Are there beers that go along with that?”

Beth laughed, “I like her Harry. Yes, I will pair it with drinks. Give me a few minutes, you are getting some new dishes tonight too.”

“How do you know her so well?” Hermione asked.

“Beth and Sirius are close friends, they met one of the times when he was coming back from Australia. He stopped in Tokyo to do some business and met her. I don't know the whole story but there are sparks there and I have a feeling they want to be more than friends.”

Hermione’s eyes went wide, “Sirius-- bad boy Black not making a move yet. He must really like her.”

Beth put two drinks and bowls in front of them, “classic tonkotsu ramen, what we are famous for. Next round is small bites later that I hope to add to the menu.”

“Thank you.” Hermione smiled.

Beth stopped and rested her hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “Let’s have dinner sometime Hermione, I would love to meet you when I am not running around like a crazy chicken. Sirius has told me a lot about you.”

“That sounds good to me Beth.” 

“I am off.” She bolted to go help another customer.

Hermione knew that this would be her favorite place after the first bite and each subsequent dish made her heart sing for the East. They talked about the places they wanted to visit and made the decision that the first place would be Tokyo. Beth’s eyes lit up when she learned they were going back to her home country. She promised to help them plan their journey.

This spurred on the conversation and the travel bug that had infected both of them. They talked about all of the other places they wanted to visit from Shanghai to New York to Venice and of course back to Australia. Hermione told him all about how she wanted to show him all of her favorite places.

They left a few hours later with full bellies and ended the night much in the same way as the last, watching movies and snuggling on the couch together.

~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Hermione was looking over the notes they had put together the day before. She grabbed the last journal and continued reading through it. There were no other notes to add to the list. They needed the last journals to understand what Allison had done after Hogwarts. She hoped that would hold clues to her biological father.

She looked over the last page of the journal. Allison wrote journal location at the top and left a cryptogram puzzle. Hermione spent the next hour decoding the location. Hermione finally read the note: to find the journal's journey back to the roost of birds to find the blue owl. Below the note was a spell to open whatever held the journals. 

Allison must have created the spell because Hermione did not know it. She had a sinking feeling that Allison was referencing Hogwarts. She knew the birds and beginning all pointed to Hogwarts.

That thought sent chills down her spine and she pushed everything off her lap and stood up from the couch. She started pacing around the library. So now she had to go on another goose chase to piece what happened from the end of Hogwarts to Allison’s death. Hermione was doubting if she would ever find the answer. 

Yes, It has been fun and enlightening to learn about her biological mother, to discover how brilliant she was. However, the question continued to loom over her: who was her biological father? She lived with this question for years and it was frustrating to have only a part of the knowledge. 

“I have to go back to Hogwarts.” Admitting it out loud made it all the more real.

And that scared the shit out of her. Hermione had not had time to process her trauma when she helped to rebuild the castle. Now, she had had time to reflect and work through her past, but the thought of going back there was terrifying. 

Hogwarts was a place that should have held so many happy memories. But for her and so many others held many of her worst. The memories of her friends falling to the Death Eaters and all that destruction. And then the worst memory of all came to the forefront: seeing Harry’s dead body. 

Hermione suddenly had the most irrational need to see Harry at that moment. The logical side of her knew that he was okay, she had just seen him the night before. But the panic started to take hold of her and she had to see him.

She quickly got up from the couch and appeared at the front gates of Potter Manor. She pushed open the gates and ran to the manor, tears were now flowing down her cheeks. She could not get the thought of Hagrid carrying a supposed dead Harry into the entrance to the school out of her mind.

Winky popped in front of Hermione, “Miss Hermione…” she stopped when she saw the tears and sad look on her face, “I will get Master Harry, stay here.” 

She gave Hermione a handkerchief and popped away.

Winky popped into the garden, “Mister Harry you need to come to the entrance now, it's Miss Hermione.” She grabbed his hand before he could register what was happening. She popped them back to the entrance hall.

Harry had never seen that panicked look on Hermione’s face, it looked like she had seen a ghost. Hermione let out a sob when she saw him. 

“Harry--” 

He could feel the pain in her voice. He swept her up in his arms and apparated them to the couch in his bedroom. 

He held Hermione tight in his arms and rocked back and forth. She held onto his shirt with a tight grip, it was as if he was the only thing holding her there.

“Hermione I am here. You are safe.” He kept repeating this over and over as he rubbed her back, “come back to me Hermione, you gotta break out of that memory. Whatever it is we can talk about it. I know you have learned how to come back from the chaos, take a deep breath in, hold it, and back out.”

Hermione lost track of the time it took to come back from that memory. She had not had a flashback as intense as this in a long time. She continued to breathe to the rhythm that Harry set. Slowly she brought herself back to center.

She finally broke the silence, “I have to go back to Hogwarts for the other journals. And when I finally realized this, I couldn’t get that memory out of my head when I saw Hagrid carrying your dead body from the forest. Harry--”

Harry pulled her even closer to him and stared into her eyes trying to keep her grounded in the now, “Hey look at me, Hermione.” 

She focused on his eyes and her breathing.

“My beautiful Hermione, I am right here. I am not dead. I won’t ever leave your side.”

Tears fell from her eyes as the emotions coursed through her, “I can’t face Hogwarts by myself. Just the thought of it--- it’s too much.”

He cupped her face, wiping the tears away, “Hermione Jean you know that don't have to go alone. You never have to face anything alone again, you have me and I am by your side.”

Hermione nodded not knowing what else to say.

Harry cupped her face with his hands, “I took the rest of this week and next off, I could tell last night that you were reaching a breaking point. So we can go tomorrow or the next day.” 

She nodded and Harry continued rubbing her back as she came down from the emotional roller coaster.

Winky popped in with a tray of snacks and tea and put it on the table in front of the couple. She looked at Harry in concern. He could read her expression asking if Hermione was okay and he nodded. She left the room without Hermione noticing that she had come.

Hermione broke the silence, “why does everything about this have to be so damn hard? Why couldn’t Allison have just written in these damn journals, I had a fling with this person… there you go, Hermione, that answers your question. But no, this has to be a damn puzzle and I am just… tired.” She sighed, “some days I feel like I have my shit together and other days I can't keep my head on straight.”

Harry handed Hermione a cup of iced tea, she sat up and took a sip, he continued, “and we will work through all of this together. You are reaching your wits end in all of this and I am not surprised. That is why you and I are going to find this answer together, Hermione.”

He grabbed a handful of chocolate candies, holding them out to her.

She took a piece of candy and rested her head on his shoulder, “I welcome your help and company.”

“That is what I am here for, you are not alone in this. Hermione, I want you to try to remember all of the good times that we had at Hogwarts. That night we became best friends and you lied to the professors. Such a scandalous time in your young life.” Harry grinned.

“The memory of you walking down the stairs for the Yule Ball and I could not stop staring at you all night, I was so jealous of Krum. And that amazing library that held so much knowledge! To our homey common room where we played games and tried to be teenagers. While yes we had some very shitty times, we also grew up there.”

Hermione nodded, reminiscing in the memories.

Harry ran his hands through her hair, “I used to hate going back to Hogwarts and dreaded it. But time and therapy really do heal wounds. I think it will be good for you to go back. Now I go back as often as I can. Hogwarts has this new life and light to it and I think you will be happy with it.” 

She sighed, “I will hold out hope that one day it will get better.”

Harry handed her a tea sandwich to eat and continued, “I think we should start at the War Memorial. It's a good place to feel all your feelings and leave the war there. That's why I planned it close to the school, everyone needs to grieve and have a place to be sad. It hurts a little less each time you go.”

Hermione lit the fire and they continued eating the snacks that Winky brought.

Harry continued running his hand up and down her arm, her phoenix following his motions. He was rubbing circles around her arm causing more flames to appear in that area. “I love this tattoo Hermione, it keeps following me.”

Hermione looked at her arm and the phoenix was moving around her arm, flames, and symbols shooting out everywhere at his touch. “Oh Fenix, showing those emotions literally on my sleeve. Stop moving you silly thing, let him look at you.”

The tattoo went back into its original position and Harry admired it in all its glory. Harry had no clue how the artist got it to look like real flames on her skin. He could see the red, orange, and yellow colors in all their glory. But it was the gold, black, and pink accents that highlighted the image and made it look real. Rolling off the flames were different symbols like a book, cat, witch’s hat, cauldron, deathly hallow, wand, and a lightning bolt. The phoenix's face was so expressive, even when it wasn't moving. The wings wrapped around her wrist and its tips and flames wove in and out of the scars. Flames flowed from her wrist to her palm and fingers.

“I didn’t write much about the tattoo in the journal. I was working through a lot at that time and didn’t know how to tell it to you. I had been going to therapy for a good six months and finally got to the point where I would stop covering up my scars from that bitch. But every time I looked down at them, I would get angry and enraged at it. It was so traumatizing to see it every day and I needed to find a way to be okay with this being on my body because it wasn't going away. My therapist recommended a tattoo as a way to cover it up with something that I thought was pretty or meaningful.” The phoenix started moving around her arm in circles, flames covering everything in bright reds and golds.

Harry loved hearing the in-depth story and stayed silent waiting for her to continue. “Logically, I too agreed that it would be the best way to live with the scars. But for the life of me, I could not decide what to do. This was something I am permanently putting on my body. So I just took a leap of faith and found a magical tattoo artist. I very reluctantly showed her my scars and told her that I needed something to cover it but had no idea what to do. She was a muggle-born transplant from England, she had graduated from Hogwarts five years before we started. So she knew about the war and prejudices and what that word means.”

Hermione stopped and took a bite of her sandwich recalling the memories. “She did a really pretty henna tattoo outline of a phoenix over the word that night so that I could get used to seeing something on my arm. She asked me to come back in a week and would show me some designs.”

“Sounds like Draco and his dark mark.” Harry grabbed the macaroons from the platter and handed one to Hermione. “Yuzu flavored I think. The elves have been experimenting with Japanese cooking ever since I told Winky that we were going to plan to visit.”

She took a bite and the citrus punch hit her mouth. “That is so good and already sharing our plans with Winky?”

“Oh, I am sure our elves are conspiring together for the last week.” Harry bit into the macaroon and knew this would be one of his favorites, it was bright, tart, and just sweet enough to be addictive. He grabbed another, savoring the flavor and so did she.

“Draco and I compared tattoo stories in Australia. His is pretty epic. So I went back and she had two ideas drawn out for me. The first was a beautiful fancy bracelet that wrapped around my wrist. It had a metallic look to it and had flames circling out in a very curated pattern. It was pretty but then she showed this,” she motioned down her arm, “I saw the phoenix, the flames, and the symbols and just knew. It was the perfect representation of being reborn from the flames of the war. It took a good six months of work for her to complete the entire tattoo and infuse it with magic. And since that day it's been my badge of honor for making it through the war and it looks pretty badass.”

“I agree.” They sat in silence watching the fire burn in the fireplace.

Harry spoke up a time later. “Well, I think Hermione Jean that it is time for us to go to bed. It has been a long day for both of us and all I want to do is hold you all night if you’ll let me?”

Hermione smiled and nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smell of coffee pulled Hermione out of her slumber. She realized that she had slept straight through the night. Whenever she had a vivid flashback, she would end up having nightmares for weeks. But sleeping in Harry’s arms was the balm that her soul needed. 

She turned in bed to face him. She brushed the hair out of his eyes and traced the lines of his face.

“Mmmmmmmm.” Harry slowly opened his eyes as her hands were running through his hair and massaging his scalp. “I smell breakfast.”

Hermione grinned and looked over to where the smells were coming from. “Our elves are so sweet, they set a table for us with breakfast by the window.”

“Can we just stay here?” Harry buried his face in her hair taking in the scent of vanilla and coconut.

Hermione giggled, “Wow my morning person Harry wants to just laze around in bed. That's how I like to spend my mornings.”

Harry laughed, “Is that an invitation? Because if this beautiful woman will stay in my bed all day, then we do not have any plans today.”

The look in his eyes made her take a deep breath. She smiled. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to stay in bed a little longer.


	18. Chapter 18 - Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) is amazing!!!!! Thanks so much for your help! Make sure you read the ending author's note!
> 
> Happy Saturday… its a much better day than I thought it would be. And with that on to chapter 18 and the visit to Hogwarts!!!!

Chapter 18

Hermione woke up early the next morning, her head resting on Harry’s chest. She saw that the sun had not come up yet but her brain was up. She sat up and tried to sneak out of bed before she woke up Harry. 

Harry sleepy smiled at her when she got up from the bed. “Morning, beautiful.”

“Hey, you, please go back to sleep. My brain won't shut off so I can't.” She kissed him on his forehead. “I am going to go and bake my mind away.”

She went into the bathroom, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She came out to find Harry asleep cuddling her pillow.

Hermione walked into the room that had been set aside for her. She quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Hermione looked around the tastefully decorated room that looked a lot like her room at Grimmauld Place. She walked by the bookcases, filled with so much knowledge. As much as she loved the room, she had a feeling that it would never be used. 

She put on a pair of trainers and grabbed a sweatshirt to take to Hogwarts. She walked downstairs and put her hair up in a bun.

“Good morning, Mistress Hermione,” Talila greeted her as she walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Talila. Do you think the elves would mind if I bake?” Hermione did not want to interrupt their daily routine but she found solace in the kitchen.

“Mistress, Simey can show you around the kitchen.” Talila waved him over.

A very regal looking elf walked across the kitchen, he held his hand out and wrapped his other around hers. “Good morning, Mistress Hermione. I have not had the pleasure of making your acquaintance yet. Talila has told me the world about you.” He motioned for her to follow him. “Please make yourself at home in our kitchen. Master Potter said that you are a baker?”

He pulled a seat out for her. “It's a pleasure to meet you too. Yes, I like to bake. My mum has a dessert shop and she taught me a fraction of her knowledge. I find comfort in baking and I need to bury myself in something this morning.”

Simey nodded. “Well, then let me show you around and you can get started.”

He proceeded to give her an in-depth tour of the kitchen and introduced her to all of the elves. He then left her alone to decide what to make.

She walked into the cooler and found a container of strawberries and knew instantly what she wanted to get. She grabbed the berries, cream, eggs, and butter and set them on the open counter. She moved to the pantry and found the rest of the ingredients to make homemade strawberry shortcake biscuits.

She knew her mum’s recipe by heart and started working on it. The sun came up and crested through the window as she finished the last part, the whipped cream. She noticed that some of the elves would stop and watch as she was completing each step of the recipe. 

“I hope you all are hungry because I made a lot.” She started plating the dessert.

Simey smiled as the elves quickly lined up. “Thank you, Mistress Hermione, I will admit we elves have a bit of a sweet tooth.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry walked into the kitchen and found Hermione sitting at the large kitchen island surrounded by all of the elves.

Winky saw Harry enter and moved to his side. “Good morning Master Potter. This morning we have a strawberry shortcake biscuit.” She handed him a plate 

Harry took a seat near Hermione. Hermione smiled at him as she kept explaining the recipe to the elves. They left soon after to finish their duties. 

Harry moved closer to her. “That was delicious and I see you have captivated my elves.”

“The entire Potter house is under my control now,” she laughed like an evil Disney character.

Harry shook his head, glad to see a smile on her face once again.

Her expression turned more serious. “Professor McGonagall invited us to meet her at the library at noon to help with the search. I figure we could go this morning to the memorial.”

“That sounds good. Let's stop in the garden and get some flowers before we go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A half an hour later they flooed to Three Broomsticks and walked up to the school in companionable silence. They moved from the train station and towards Hogwarts ground. The path split in two and Harry led her down the left path.

The path was dotted with a black and white brick in a random pattern. Fruit trees lined the path and perfumed the area in apple and orange scents. In between the trees were planters filled with an electric blue flower.

“The trees are a sign of renewed path because even in the darkest of the winter, they will always bud in spring.”

“What do the flowers mean?”

“Hope.”

“Very fitting Harry.”

As they got closer to the archway, the planters in between the trees were switched out for ornate vases. Some of the vases had flowers in them. Harry stopped and put the flowers they had picked from the garden into them.

“Most people that come bring flowers. One thing we ask is that they leave one flower for all of the fallen. The elves will take these flowers and place them around the memorial. So you will see some unique bouquets around.”

Hermione stopped in front of the archway that was covered in folded papers. “These are notes and wishes that people have written after visiting the memorial,” Harry added, “it's a good way to express your feelings. Every few weeks, the house-elves will remove the notes and add them to a journal so that people can come back and see what has been written.” 

She touched some of the multi-colored notes as they walked by. She stopped as her finger brushed over the parchment paper. She saw a children’s drawing of a sun and with ‘hope’ written under it. Another had a long handwritten note and at the end was written ‘I will miss you forever’.

“So as we walk into the memorial, you will see the names of those who fought engraved in the bricks.” 

The bricks spread out as far as the eye could see. There was a fountain in the middle of the memorial. Benches and trees were sporadically placed around the park.

“I did make a very controversial choice to include the names of all who died in the war, both light and dark, in the memorial. I got so much pushback but everyone lost someone. Even if they were evil and vile, someone loved them. Well, most and his name is not here. We need to put their names here so that people will never forget.” 

She squeezed his hand in understanding. “That must have been a hard thing to do.”

“Some old man asked me how I could stand the thought of Peter Pettigrew’s name near my parents’ names. They tried to make me feel guilty about wanting to put him in a place of honor.”

Harry stopped and felt like he had to explain it to her. “Hermione, he betrayed my parents and led to them being murdered…”

He stopped trying to gather his thoughts.

“But I think about his mother, she lost her son as much as I lost my parents. She needs a place to remember and be sad and feel the feelings. We keep forgetting them and we keep perpetuating the cycle. Until we stop and realize that evil is not born. We are not born innately good or bad, we are born with a blank slate. Society, our environment, and our choices will tip the scales in either direction. Peter made the wrong choices and it's not my burden to carry that guilt. But he died and this memorial is not a place of honor. It's a place of sadness and a place of grief and I hope a place of hope too.

“But of course the bigots won’t listen to that. I told them that if I am okay with the death eaters' names being there and the Headmistress of Hogwarts is okay with it. And that I was paying for it, they didn’t get to butt into it.”

Harry held her hand as they walked towards the fountain. Hermione looked down at the names as they walked towards the fountain. The fountain was absolutely breathtaking. In the middle was a floating iridescent white marble sphere. Gold and silver lines coalesced into swirls around the circle. Colorful stones sparkled throughout it and a quote was engraved into the stone. As it spun around, the words came to life. Dumbledore’s words echoed through the years, ‘happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.’

“I thought his words were fitting,” Harry added.

Tears were falling down her cheeks and she nodded at him, “I agree.”

They walked around the fountain and into the park. The names of the people that fell in the final battle surrounded the fountain. Her mind flooded with memories from that terrible night.

But today, reliving these memories was different than the day before because she had Harry by her side to keep her grounded.

Harry lost track of the amount of time they spent standing in front of the fountain, tears running down both of their faces. Hermione squeezed his hand and they walked around the fountain and into the park.

“While this place makes me sad, I can see the hope.” Hermione looked out at the lawn that led up to the boundary of Hogwarts. She had not looked up at the castle until that moment.

She let out a loud gasp as she took in the marvelous view of the castle that she had fallen in love with so many years ago. She could make out the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw towers in the distance and could see that they had added more towers to the perimeter of the castle. The magic and love of Hogwarts reverberated through her soul.

“Ready to go to the castle?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Headmistress McGonagall had invited them to explore the castle and grounds in the morning and to meet her in the library at noon. They walked around the castle, exploring new nooks and crannies. The changes to the castle made it a new experience for Hermione. It felt like they were back in school, except that during school Harry never took advantage of all of the hidden places to have a quick snog. This of course included her beloved library.

McGonagall met them in the library after her third class of the day. “Why hello to my favorite students,” she said as she walked up on the duo sitting at a table looking through a book.

Hermione turned around with a huge smile on her face. “Professor...”

Minerva scolded Hermione as she sat down at the table, “I am Minerva to you now, no more professor. I hear that we have some searching of Hogwarts to do. So, do tell the story please.”

Hermione and Harry went through an abbreviated version of all that had happened over the last few weeks. Hermione pulled out the last journal and showed the last page to Minerva.

She sat back and read over the last few pages. “I agree with you that she is referring to the Ravenclaw common room.” Minerva sat back and nodded, “There is an area of the common room library that has secret compartments. I would not be surprised if Allison keyed one to you. Let's go see.” 

She got up quickly and the duo followed her to the common room.

They approached the entrance and it instantly moved to the side for the Headmistress. Minerva turned around to watch the look on both of their faces as they saw the library entrance in the common room.

“I would have never left this place,” Hermione said in awe of the room. They walked towards it with reverence. Minerva had Allison’s journal and was reading back through the description to try to find the compartment. 

Hermione tried to help but Minerva shook her head. “Go explore the library. I know you want to. I know this library pretty well.”

“How do you know it, Minerva? You are a lion like us,” Harry said.

“ Harry, just because I was a lion, didn't mean that I never went up here. I snogged my fair share of time in this library when I was in school.” Minerva laughed at the look on his face.

She took off around the library as Harry returned to Hermione’s side. She had picked up a book and was reading the back. Harry came up behind her and kissed her neck. He ran his hand down her side.

Hermione leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder. “I am so jealous of the Ravenclaws. This is why their marks were so high…”

“But still didn’t beat your genius.” He kissed her neck again. “I say we keep our library tradition alive.” 

She laughed and turned in his arms, catching him off guard, and pushed him back against the shelves. Harry liked seeing this side of Hermione come out and deepened the kiss.

Minerva called out, “Hey you two, I think I found it. Come to the back of the library.”

Hermione reluctantly pulled away from Harry. 

“Coming Minnie,” Harry yelled.

“Potter that is not my name,” Minerva scolded with a laugh.

“But you know you love it.” He laughed. 

They walked to the end of the dark brown bookcases and found her standing beside a floor to ceiling chest of drawers.

“So each seventh year will take a drawer over here and leave notes and other things throughout the year.” She pointed up towards a row of drawers near the ceiling. “Some even leave legacy boxes for children to find later. You see that symbol of an owl, that is the Harwood family symbol.” Minerva handed the journal back to Harry to hold.

Hermione smiled. “Finally something was easy. This whole thing has been one maze after another. So, how do we get it down?”

Minerva grabbed a ladder from behind the shelf. “Climb on up and perform the spell that she outlined.”

“Of course, the damn thing has to be that high,” she sighed and ascended the ladder. She held on to the edges tight and made it to the top. Hermione took her wand out and said “Tantum enim aperire mea.” She did the complicated wand motion. Without any warning, the box popped out and flew at her. She caught it but that caused her to let go of the ladder and fall back with a scream.

Harry’s heart leaped out of his chest and he jumped into action, catching her before she hit the floor. “Please don’t ever do that again, you scared the shit out of me.”

Hermione took in deep breaths trying to calm her nerves. Harry set her down on her feet but kept his arms wrapped around her. He hugged and rubbed her back trying to help her calm down.

“Good catch, Mr. Potter.” 

Hermione handed Minverva the box and she took it over to the table and sat down waiting for the couple. 

“Thanks.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek. “And that sucked. Glad her spell worked at least.”

Hermione kept a hold on Harry’s hand as they joined Minerva at the table. Hermione turned the box around admiring the silver inlaid owl design that was carved into the top and side of blue wood. Vines winded around the box and ended at an intricate lock. She pressed her finger into the lock, knowing it would trigger a finger stick to confirm that she was related to Allison. She pulled her hand away and healed the stick. The box popped open and Hermione saw two more journals.

Hermione stayed silent. 

Harry began, “well looks like we have more reading to do. Thanks for your help, Minerva. If you are free, do you want to join us at Grimmauld Place tonight? I'll cook dinner and you can take a look at the timeline we've created. Also, if you're willing we could ask some questions about Allison and Alice."

Minerva reached across the table to get Hermione’s attention. “This is just another step in the right direction for you Hermione. Every piece of this puzzle is one you didn't have yesterday. And yes Harry I would love to join you for dinner.”

Hermione grabbed the journals and smiled at Minerva. “Thanks for the help, Minerva.”

~~~~~~~~~~~END OF CHAPTER~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you so much for continuing with me on this journey! Don't worry you still have nine more chapters to go. But right now please leave a review and get your guesses in on who you think Hermione’s bio-dad is. Given some clues throughout the story and I would love to know your thoughts. Chapter 19… penultimate chapter!!!! So many questions will finally be answered!!!!


	19. Chapter 19 - Allison's Final Journals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) is amazing!!!!! Thanks so much for your help, this story would not be the same without you!!!!!!
> 
> It has been a long week… work and the world are crazy so I felt like sharing this chap a few days early!!!! I so very much hope that you like this chapter and I know that this is the one you have been waiting for. Please leave me a review with your reaction!
> 
> There are 7 more chaps after this, so more explanations and fun moments for all the characters!!!!

Chapter 19

Hermione finished the last journal and set it down on the table taking in all she had read. They had dinner with Minvera the night before and she had been a wealth of information for the couple. She helped fill in some of the gaps of knowledge in the timeline they created for Allison’s Hogwarts years. 

She regaled them with funny stories about the sisters at Hogwarts. Minerva agreed with their observation that they needed to reach out to Remus to see what he knew. They set up a dinner with the Lupins and spent the rest of the evening enjoying drinks on the patio catching up with her favorite professor. 

The sunlight flooded into the Potter Library from the skylights and she could tell by its position that more than just a few hours had passed since she started reading. Harry had planned to spend the morning gardening and was going to come to find her when he finished shopping for dinner.

She stood up from the couch and stretched her stiff muscles. She had been in the same position for far too long. “Talila.”

Talila popped into the library. “Good afternoon Mistress Hermione. How can I help?”

“Do you know where Harry is? He was supposed to come to find me when he was done shopping but it has been obviously longer than that.” 

“Master Harry is in the kitchen. He said he did not want to interrupt you.” Talila nodded towards the journals, “He is preparing dinner right now. I will fix your dress.” 

She snapped her fingers and the wrinkles in her teal dress smoothed out with her magic.

“Thanks so much, Talila.” 

She slipped on her sandals and made her way to the kitchen. She was torn between being happy and sad from what she had learned from the journals. But above all else, she had clues to who her biological father was, enough that she felt like they could figure it out.

She walked into the kitchen with a bounce in her step. 

She looked around and noticed that the kitchen was devoid of house-elves. 

“It sure is empty in here.” She hugged him from behind resting her head on his back.

Harry laughed. “They usually make themselves scarce when I am in here working. I have told them many times that it is okay but Winky told me to pick my battles with the elves. I hope they are relaxing but you know the elves.”

“So I finished the journals and these ones are so different from the others Harry. It actually had personality in them and I feel like I got to know her so much more today. From the stark personality void Hogwarts journals to her discussing her sex life in these, such a huge difference.”

Hermione walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. “And then they got really sad and hard to read, the raw emotions and turmoil that she went through her last years of life.” 

She stopped talking and listened to his heartbeat. Harry stopped chopping the potatoes and turned in her arms. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. Hermione loved that he knew that she just needed a hug from him at that moment. Harry kissed her forehead and she smiled. She sat on the stool beside him.

“It was hard but so good Harry. These journals did not just have her normal this is what I have researched. She actually wrote stories about what had happened during the last two years of her life. These journals were so much longer with knowledge interspersed with daily happenings and some very interesting ramblings and rants. She was really sarcastic,” she laughed.

“Well, I guess that is genetic, not just from your mum.” Harry laughed as she punched him in the arm.

Hermione continued, “I think these are so different because she was so isolated from everyone and she did not want to miss a thing that happened. Her twin was gone and she was pretty much alone, except for a few months with her assigned partner with the Order.” Hermione sighed. “So her partner, who I understand from her journals is my biological father. His code name is Kurt. She never gives his actual name just in case the journals were found. Apparently, he went to school with them so that narrows down the list a lot.”

“That works, we can go over that list of the male Order members that Minnie gave us with Remus. That should help us to get the list of bio-dad candidates narrowed down.” Harry pushed the bag of carrots and a peeler to Hermione. “So, what was their assignment?”

Grateful to have something to do with her hands, she started peeling the carrots as she continued, “Her assignment from Dumbledore was to learn about Tom Riddle’s early life and family origins. She was the one who found a lot of the history that Dumbledore told you about Riddle.”

Harry stopped cutting and stared at her, “really?”

Hermione nodded. “They learned all about the family origins in Little Hangleton from August to December 1978. Allison went off on her own in January 1979 and learned about his birth and growing up in the orphanage.”

“Wait why was she on her own, didn't she have Kurt?” Harry started dicing an onion while Hermione cut the carrots into bite-size pieces.

“In December of 1978, she and Kurt took a break from the assignment to attend the weddings of your parents and Alice and Frank. There are a few pictures from the weddings in the journal that I wanted to show you of your parents. Allison was frustrated and went on a two-page rant about how she did not understand why the couples were getting married during the war. But I do understand why they wanted to have a wedding.” She set down her knife and Harry set his down too.

She grabbed his hands, “I understand them wanting to be happy even if it was only for a moment in the middle of all chaos.” She hugged him, “You were my happiness in the middle of our war. I only kept going because of you, Harry. My mind always went back to you and that dance in the middle of the tent and hoping that I would be happy again someday.”

“I always hoped I would find that happy feeling again. I didn't truly feel it until you came back.” Harry rested his forehead against hers and hugged her close to him. “Now I get to have you in my arms every day. I am happy to see more pictures of my parents and I am sure Neville would like to see them too.”

She smiled. “That was the plan. So do tell Harry, what are we making for dinner?” Hermione looked around at the ingredients spread on the counter. There was a puff pastry lined casserole dish, a block of strong-smelling cheese, and a package of ground beef.

Harry handed her the grater and pointed to the cheese. “We are making cheesy Shepherd's pie tonight. My pie is a favorite of the Lupins and I have never made it like a lasagna where I added copious amounts of cheese. So, I figured why not try tonight.”

Hermione grated some of the cheese to sample. “Oh, that is good, nice and stinky cheese,” and continued grating.

“So where were you, oh yes so the Longbottoms and my parents were married. So did Allison and Kurt attend them together?” Harry added the diced veggies to the pan.

Hermione laughed. “Oh no just because they were having a lot of sex did not mean that they were together. Allison made sure to say over and over in the journal that they were not dating or even together. They were friends with benefits because neither wanted the baggage of a relationship in the middle of a war but wanted the stress relief. She said if they were going to die they might as well enjoy themselves with no strings attached. Obviously, they were not careful enough. ”

“Well, I am glad they were not too careful.” He kissed her cheek and grabbed the ground beef to add to the pan on the stove.

She continued, “They went to the weddings alone. Dumbledore kept all assignments very hush-hush. Not even their families knew they were on assignment together. So apparently your parents were married on December 12 and Alice and Frank were married on December 13. Allison said that they had a great time and even danced at Frank and Alice’s wedding. But something happened from the wedding to December 14 that scared Allison. She did not write what happened in the journal. She wrote that she was so shaken that she left the manor without saying anything to anyone. She went directly to Dumbledore to report the incident because she questioned if Kurt was truly on the side of the light with what she witnessed.”

“I wonder what happened. Must have been something big for her to react that way,” Harry added.

“I agree, I wish she would have said what happened. Dumbledore tried to reassure her of Kurt’s allegiance to the Order but she would not budge. She would not be talked out of it and told Dumbledore that she was going to go to the orphanage and finish the assignment on her own. She quickly finished the assignment in January and February of 1979. I guess Dumbledore went back later to the contacts that she met and got the memories that he showed you in our sixth year.”

“She was going to be reassigned on another mission but quit the Order in February much to Dumbelore’s disappointment. The week before she found out that she was pregnant and planned to go into hiding away from the magical world.”

She grabbed the cut potatoes and added them to the pot of boiling water on the stove. She added more salt to the water and stirred it gathering her thoughts.

“Harry the second journal was really hard to read. She stayed away from everyone she knew to protect the two of us. Other Pureblood families that did not side with Voldermort were being murdered or being held for ransom for allegiance or money. Allison was afraid that they would use her or me to get the Harwood’s to join the Death Eaters. So, she hid in the muggle world.”

Harry put his arm around her as she stared at the boiling water. She leaned into his support and sighed. “She wrote detailed entries about her pregnancy. A lot of what my mum told me happened when she was pregnant with me, happened to Allison. She superimposed almost everything that happened to her on to my mum when she modified their memories. From the terrible morning sickness to even the first time she felt me move around.”

“That must have been hard for her.”

“Allison tried to be hopeful that they would win the war but was worried all of the time. Talila told me about how the Allison that came back after I had been born was very different. I can see the change happening in the journals. It killed her to leave me with my parents and she regretted it every day but knew it was the best thing for me.”

“So she never told Kurt?” Harry asked.

“Remember Harry, she didn’t trust his allegiance. She wrote a very peculiar thing that she hoped his condition would not be transferred to her daughter. So--” 

“Nee Nee, Harry where are you?” Teddy yelled from the hallway.

“In the kitchen kiddo,” Harry yelled back. He kissed Hermione’s cheek, “guess the Lupins are here.”

“Good timing, that was pretty much it from the journals.” Hermione kissed his cheek

Teddy came running into the kitchen and Hermione braced herself as Teddy ran full-force into her arms, “hey Teddy Bear,” 

She spun him around and giggles filled the kitchen.

“Nee Nee, I am so happy to see you,” Teddy said when she set him down in front of Harry.

“What am I chopped liver now kid,” Harry laughed.

“Uncle Harry you are silly.” He changed his hair to match Harry’s and grinned at him. 

Harry pulled out his wand and made a step stool appear next to him, “want to help cook?”

“YES.” He jumped up on the stool and started talking a mile a minute asking Harry about dinner.

Hermione grabbed an apron for Teddy. She helped him tie the apron while the boys continued to work on the filling for the pie. Harry was showing Teddy what spices he was going to add and having the boy test each of them. 

Hermione grabbed the pot of chopped potatoes and drained it in the sink. She set the pot by the stove and added the drained potatoes back. She grabbed the butter, heavy cream, and an assortment of spices.

Remus and Tonks walked into the kitchen smiling at the couple and their son standing at the stove watching and helping them cook. 

“So what food are we having tonight, Chef Teddy?” Tonks asked as she sat at the kitchen island. 

Remus stood behind her rubbing her back as Harry whispered in Teddy’s ear what to say.

“Mummy, we are having Shepards pie cheesy edition. Oh,” he turned to Harry with a huge grin on his face, “you know I love Shepard’s pie. This is going to be so good.”

The adults laughed at his realization. “Want to mash the potatoes?” Hermione wandlessly pulled him and the stool over to her. She told him how much of the other ingredients to add to the mixture and Teddy went to town mashing them.

Harry turned off the burner and moved the filling from the stove. He set it on a trivet beside the baking dish. He waited for Hermione and Teddy to finish the potatoes. Hermione brought the potatoes while Teddy grabbed his stool. He jumped up on it and smiled at Harry.

“Okay, Teddy you are in charge of the cheese. Hermione will put a layer of potatoes, then I will put the filling, then you put cheese. Grab just one handful and then spread it out, we want to do a lot of layers.” 

Teddy nodded at the direction, standing at attention ready to do his part.

They proceeded to layer and Hermione added a final layer of mashed potatoes to the top. 

“Put the rest of the cheese on top Teddy.” With a huge grin, he artistically placed the remaining cheese on the top in a heart shape. With a flourish of her hand, Hermione wandlessly sent the dish flying into the open oven.

“That is so cool, can you teach me how to do that without a wand?” Teddy exclaimed.

Hermione laughed, “We can certainly try, kiddo. Just so you know, not everyone can do it.”

“Oh, I know I will be able to, Daddy does wandless magic all of the time. He told me that I should be able to do it too.” He stopped and whispered in Hermione’s ear, “can we eat the rest of the taters. They smell so good.”

She conspiratory smiled at him. “I have an even better idea. Can you go grab two eggs and I will grab the flour? Meet me by the stove.”

Teddy took off running towards the fridge.

“Walk in the kitchen little man,” Remus warned him and he slowed his pace to the fridge whistling a tune. 

Hermione winked at Harry as she grabbed the pot of potatoes and made her way over to the stove. She accioed the flour from the pantry and Teddy jumped up on his step stool to join her. “So we are going to make something extra special with the leftovers, potato pancakes. These are my favorite thing to do with mashed potatoes.”

Harry turned and watched his girlfriend and his nephew cooking together. Hermione was talking animatedly and Teddy was an attentive student paying close attention to what Hermione was doing. He would ask questions about why she was doing things and patiently Hermione explained everything about the recipe. It was such an endearing sight and his heart felt like it would burst with the love he felt for Hermione. Teddy held a very special place in Harry’s heart and her love for him made Harry fall further and further for her.

Remus saw the look on Harry’s face as he stared at Hermione and Teddy cooking. “I take it things are going well, Harry?”

Harry couldn't stop the goofy grin on his face as he turned to the couple, “better than I ever could have imagined Remus. Things just clicked into place and it’s like she was never gone. We spent most of the week together.” Harry couldn’t help but smile.

Tonks grinned at him. “Glad you’re enjoying your time off. How has the research been going? You guys are trying to find her biological dad, right?”

Harry nodded. “Yea we are, Tonks. We have a long timeline in the library that we wanted to go over with you, Remus. We are glad to have your input. Minnie said you would be the best to talk to about things that happened during your time at Hogwarts.”

Remus scolded him, “You know Minerva does not like that nickname and she will get even with you as she has Sirius. I am happy to help all I can.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy passed out on the couch after dinner, he had had a busy day playing with his Weasley cousins before the excitement of making dinner and then eating it. Remus picked up Teddy and took him to his bedroom at the manor, so they could talk without fear of waking him up. He kissed Teddy’s forehead and tucked his stuffed alligator in bed beside him. He walked out of the room and walked towards the library. 

Hermione met him on the way. “Thanks for coming to help us, Remus. Professor… Minerva told us you would be the next best person to bring into the research.” They walked into the library where Tonks and Harry were sitting in front of the enlarged notebook.

“Hannah sent us some desserts and a note for us to come to dinner next Monday.” Harry poured the pot of chai that went along with the desserts. Harry handed cups of tea to everyone and a slice of cake. Remus sat next to his wife and gladly took the cup of tea from him.

“That sounds perfect, Love.” Hermione and Harry sat on the chairs facing the couch.

Everyone started eating the dessert as Hermione started to explain the story, “So I am going to try to explain this story to you from the beginning. There’s a lot of things that have happened and if it gets confusing please stop me.” Hermione was in her element.

Hermione took a sip of her tea and started, “I left to go to Australia four years ago to return the memories of my parents. The Healer was able to reverse my oblivation spell because of a memory stasis spell that was put on their minds a month after I was born. This protected my parent’s minds from what I did. Well, after the Healer reversed it.”

Remus nodded. “I remember Sirius mentioning that they found out you were adopted.” She nodded and he continued, “Sirius asked me to research any Allison’s that we knew during Hogwarts. We talked about the three that were in our class and I thought he had crossed them off the list of who your biological mother could be.”

Hermione nodded. “Yes and you are right that we had crossed them off the list early on. But come to find out through the reparation payments that my biological mother is Allison Harwood. Neville found our family lineage book that confirmed this before Sirius and Draco came to get me from Australia.”

Remus’ cup started to shake at the mention of Allison Harwood.

“So, we have been trying to piece together what happened from when you guys graduated from Hogwarts to when she died. I have gathered all of her journals from Longbottom and Harwood Manors and Hogwarts.”

Harry watched Remus’s eyes flicker between the notes and back to Hermione. He watched as Remus set his cup on the tab, his hands were shaking. 

Hermione sat back down and pointed to the journals on the table. “Today, I finally finished her last two journals that talked about her mission after Hogwarts and about her partner Kurt who I have determined has to be my biological father. I have a list of male Order members that I wanted to run by you since you went to school with her.”

“Kurt? Wasn’t that the code name that Dumbledore gave you back in the day, Remus? Doesn't it mean wolf in...” Tonks stopped talking as she saw the look of disbelief on Remus’s face.

Hermione’s eyes zeroed in on Remus, who was sitting straight up on the couch staring at the picture of Allison in the notes. 

His eyes met hers as he nodded. “I was on assignment with Ally after Hogwarts and she left after Alice’s wedding -- I didn’t know why.”

Hermione saw the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in an instant. “She found out that you were a werewolf and that’s why she left.” Hermione sat there in disbelief that she had been sitting across from her biological father the entire time. Remus Lupin, her second favorite professor and father to Teddy -- was her biological father. It all made sense. Allison’s hesitance about his allegiance and keeping her from him.

“Oh, shit…” Harry exclaimed, putting it together. His cup slipped out of his hands startling the silence that had descended over the room.

Both Hermione and Remus, wandlessly tried to stop the cup from falling and both of their magic focused on the cup caused it to shatter all over the floor.

“Well, I guess I know where I get my wandless magic ability from,” she sent the shards flying towards the trash.

Remus’s hands were shaking with emotion as he looked at Hermione’s eyes. “Oh, god. All those nights in the crappy motels on that damn mission. Allison was so hard-headed.” He stopped. “God, she was pregnant? How could I have not known.”

“She hid me from you, Remus. From everyone. You never had a chance to know. She must have seen you transform in December after Alice’s wedding. She was terrified and questioned your loyalty.” She paused. “I assume it was pureblood prejudice towards werewolves. She didn’t know she was pregnant when she left. And after she found out she quit the Order and went into hiding.”

Hermione watched Remus look down at the table gathering his thoughts. He sighed. “Well, this is not what I expected to walk into today. I don't really know what to say, except I feel terrible.”

Hermione shook her head at him. “Remus, please remember that Allison is the one who made the choice to hide me away,” she looked into his eyes with such intensity. “I am sorry she never gave you a chance to know you had a daughter.” She paused and handed him the two journals. “I think that it might help you to read through her musings and ramblings in her journals.”

He took the books, his hands still shaking.

Hermione continued, “Remus, she stayed away from everyone while she was pregnant with me. She was terrified that the Death Eaters would use her or me as leverage to get their father to join them. She didn't know which side you were on. She did what she thought was best and left me with my parents. Reading between the lines, I could tell that there was a lot she regretted.” 

Remus set the journals beside him, his hands were still shaking. Tonks held his hands trying to give him support as he processed all that had been said.

Hermione continued trying to reassure him, “Remus, I had a great childhood with parents. They love me with every fiber of their being.”

Remus let out a shaky laugh trying to ease the tension of the moment. “I would have been a terrible father back then,” he ran his hand through his hair, “I could not even take care of myself properly, I can't imagine what I would have done if Allison came to me with you. And then when she died...” he dropped his head trying not to let the tears escape that had welled up in his eyes, “I want to say I would have stepped up but -”

“But nothing Remus,” Hermione said with such conviction, she reached across the table and grabbed his hand, “we can go through the what-ifs all night and for the rest of our lives. I sure did for a long time when I first found out I was adopted. But none of that is going to help you. And you know what I have learned?” She paused waiting for him to respond.

Remus met her eyes as she continued, “I won the lottery in genetic relations and was raised in the best environment I could have been. I got the best of both worlds. As much as Allison took away from everyone, she gave me so much more by leaving me with my parents. You don't have to feel guilty.”

Remus finally smiled at her last statement. “You’ve had a good life so far.”

“And if only we had asked you these questions before, we could have found this out weeks ago,” she laughed.

~~~~~ END OF CHAPTER ~~~~~~

What did you think? Some of you in the reviews almost hit the nail on the head or even guessed he was her bio dad... Great job!!!!! Next chap will have more reactions between Remus and Hermione!

AND of course reaction with Teddy……. Yes yes yes her little brother TEDDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you have a good weekend!


	20. Chapter 20 - Discussions with Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews, a lot of you guessed right that bio-dad was Remus and some had some really great other guesses like Sirius. And now the last 7 chaps of the story are the family coming together, bonding, and so much fun!!!!
> 
> Big shout out to the awesome Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help alphaing and betaing the last half of the fic!!!!!!!!

Chapter 20

Hermione could not sleep. She kept tossing and turning since they had laid down to go to bed an hour before.

“Hermione.” Harry turned over and snuggled against her back. “What's wrong?”

“I can't sleep.”

Harry glanced at the clock that read 1 AM. He reached over and picked up her wand, using it to light the fireplace. He set it aside and said, "let's go lay by the fire. Maybe that will help you sleep."

He grabbed the pillows and blankets and helped her to her feet. Hermione waved her hand over the rug, making it softer. She sat down and stared into the fire.

Harry set the bedding down and sat behind her. He pulled her back into his arms.

She sighed and leaned into his embrace. "Harry, Remus was devastated. I'm so happy to discover who my biological father is. I'm so happy that it's him. But I feel like we pulled the world out from under him."

He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her shoulders.

“Quiet brooding is how Remus is. He is a man of very few words but when he does speak up, it's with intention and well thought out.”

A bug popped in the log in the fireplace making it flare-up. The fire was soothing her soul.

"He needs time to think and I am glad you gave him Allison's journals to read, that will help him. He doesn't let many people get physically close to him. He let Allison in, even if it was only friends with benefits. I bet that it really hurt him when she left for what he saw as no reason. I don't think he has dealt with that pain. And then to find out that she was pregnant and hid you away. It's a lot to take in.”

Harry continued, “I think Remus also realized that Allison hid you away because she knew he was a werewolf. He was feeling down because once again, his condition took something away from him, but you telling him that he shouldn't feel guilty was a good thing."

“I have had a few weeks to take this in. He has had a few hours.” Hermione sighed.

“Very astute observation. I think you are going to be Teddy’s favorite person since you are his sister.”

“Oh Harry, I get to be someone’s sister. I have always wanted to be that. I thought things couldn’t get any better. I have two amazing nieces and cousins and now I find out that that little boy that has stolen my heart is my brother.” Her breath hitched.

“He is going to be just as happy, Hermione. Remus and Tonks were not able to have another child after the war and that has been hard for Teddy to understand. The mummies and daddies around him had more babies. We all know how lucky he is to still have a mummy and daddy but you can't tell a young kid that. All he sees is everyone else has brothers and sisters and he felt so alone. Actually, it was Draco who really got through to Teddy.”

“Really?”

“We were at Sunday dinner when Audrey announced that she and Percy were expecting their second baby. Teddy went very quiet for the rest of dinner. I could see his little mind trying to process the news. We were making s’mores and Teddy was sitting back not his normal gregarious self. Draco noticed and asked Remus what was wrong.”

“Draco told Remus he knew how the boy was feeling and took him for a walk. They came back and Teddy was mostly back to himself. I don't know what he said to him but it worked. Draco, too, is an only child whose mum couldn't have any more babies. Ever since then, when he gets sad he will ask to talk to me or Draco since we are like him, only children.”

“Oh Teddy,” Hermione exclaimed, “I get that. I have felt the same way. You feel left out somehow being an only child.”

Hermione stayed quiet, taking in all that he had told her. 

“Do you think he will want to tell Teddy sooner than later?” Hermione couldn't help feeling excited.

“I am sure that he will want to tell him sooner. Now, Miss Hermione let’s try to get some sleep so we can wake up and come up with an idea for telling Teddy.”

Hermione turned in his arms, leaned into his frame, and pushed him back into the rug. Harry sucked in a deep breath She pushed him back into the rug. “What if I can’t sleep just yet?”

“You are going to be the death of me, woman.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry was up a few hours later. He carried Hermione back to the bed and tucked her in. He quietly got dressed and walked out of the master bedroom. He made his way into the solarium where the house elves always laid out an assortment of snacks in the room whenever he had company over.

Remus was seated at the table, looking glum.

“You are so predictable, Moony.” Harry threw a croissant at his brooding uncle.

“I think I am allowed to be today, Harry.” Remus ripped into the croissant. “Grab me some coffee, please.”

Harry grabbed a plate of fruit and pastries and set it down on the table. He grabbed two cups of coffee and added cream and sugar and brought them to the table.

“I have been up since Merlin knows when this morning. I read Allison’s journals and--” he sighed, “part of me wants to rage and be mad at Allison for keeping her from me--” 

Harry watched Remus go completely silent and ball his fists. Harry followed his gaze out the window and watched as two birds landed on the bush. He watched the pair of birds fight over a twig while he gave Remus space to work through his emotions.

Remus released his fist and slouched down in the chair in resignation. “But the larger part of me is glad that she did.” He hung his head in what looked to be defeat.

Harry pushed the cup of coffee towards Remus.

Remus grabbed the cup, his hands shaking as he took a sip. 

“Harry, I was a damn mess after school. I could not hold down a stable job and couldn’t even provide for myself. James tried to help me financially but after they died --” he stopped for a moment. “I went into a deep depression and spiraled down. The man I am today wants to think that I would have stepped up and been better for her. Honestly, I was terrible to me. I can't imagine that I could have stepped up.”

Winky popped into the room and refilled Remus' cup. She put a plate of bacon on the table and popped out. 

“I didn’t really get my shit together until I taught you, kids, at Hogwarts. I was in a very dark place for so long…”

Harry tapped the edge of his coffee cup getting Remus attention. “And what would you have done with an infant on your Wolfie nights?”

Remus turned to Harry. “Merlin, I would have gone back to my father, and… he would have taken her from me. She would have been raised by my very bitter and broken father. He would have thought that she was a werewolf too and locked her up every full moon and she would have had a worse childhood than I did.”

Silence fell over the room as Harry watched Remus process this latest observation.

“So, I don't have to be angry at Allison.” He stilled when he realized what he had said.

“That and you don't have to be guilty about not being her dad like you are with Teddy. You were not the same man you are now. Jean and Edward raised her to be the amazing witch she is today. They nurtured that boundless curiously that she has, grounding her and all the while giving her a wonderful childhood."

Remus turned to Harry, “but where do we start? Because I know that she is my daughter. I can't just stay Professor Lupin to her.” His eyes flashed gold.

Harry knew those gold eyes meant that his wolf was close to the surface. Harry had seen the protective side of Remus come out on many occasions when Teddy was in trouble. When the little Lupin broke his arm last year playing quidditch, the look on Remus’ face at Teddy’s tears could have turned the dead.

“You're not starting from scratch with Hermione, Moony. You have a good relationship with her. I get that you don’t know what this relationship will be and she doesn't either. Remus, it would be good to have a discussion with her. You two get to decide what you want. I sure know that there is a little boy upstairs that is going to be elated that he has a sister.”

Remus cracked a smile for the first time that morning. “Teddy has a sister, Merlin, and the fact that it is Hermione, he is going to flip. He has not stopped talking about the night of the party and the s’mores and how excited he is for the slumber party on Friday. He keeps talking about the adventures he wants to go on with the both of you.”

“So Remus, how about I go wake the princess up and you two can talk?”

“Harry, I am not a princess.” Hermione walked into the solarium with a grin on her face. “I am a Khalessi.'' She grabbed a cup of coffee and croissant from the table and joined them at the table.

“All hail the Mother of Books.” Harry pulled the chair out for her.

Hermione had written about the Song of Fire and Ice series in her ‘Dear Harry’ journal. Harry could tell that she had been completely enthralled by the story with the way she described it in the journal. He had jumped into the series and had just finished the first book, Game of Thrones.

Harry got up from the table. “Well, Mother of Books and Moony, I am going to go and cook us all a proper breakfast. You two talk.” He kissed her on her cheek and walked out of the room.

“Subtlety is not his strong suit.” Remus wandlessly moved the coffee pot to the table and filled his mug. She grinned at him as she did the same to the sugar and cream containers.

He held the cream up offering it to Hermione. “Yes, please,” she added a cube of sugar to her coffee. She held up a sugar cube to him and he nodded and she placed it in his mug. “The first cup of the day is always the best.” She took a sip.

Hermione noticed that Remus was fidgeting in his seat. “Remus you don’t have to be nervous.”

“So you say. You've had four years to come to terms with the fact that you're adopted. I have had less than a day to come to terms that I have a second, well really a first child. So I will not be very eloquent in this conversation but I think it’s important that we talk.”

“I understand that. My therapist and I talked about this a lot. I never thought I would find the answers I wanted, let alone it be someone that I know. Thankfully, Allison wrote journals and,” Hermione shrugged, “well you know the rest.”

“I read through the journals this morning. Thanks for giving them to me to read. It helped me to understand why she did what she did.” He paused and took a sip of coffee and set his cup down, “I would like to say that I am a good dad now. I love my son with everything that I am. But back then, I would have been shite. I could barely keep myself alive,” He trailed away.

Hermione nodded and motioned for him to continue whenever he was ready. She remained quiet, concentrating on her coffee and pastry.

“If my dad knew about you, I'm sure he would have taken you away from me. He would not have given you back to me. He was a very scared and broken man after the attack on me. My childhood was not good and I can't imagine what your childhood would have been like with him. I am thankful that Ally took care of you and did what she thought was best. Even though it tore her apart to do so.”

“I could see that too in the journals. I cried when I read them.” Hermione dropped her eyes to the table in front. “It always troubled me. I wondered why my biological parents gave me up. I questioned what was wrong with me for a long time.”

“Everything was wrong with the world, not you.”

She let out a strangled laugh, “Logically I understand that but emotionally it was really hard to deal with. But, reading Allison’s journals, I could see the pain and raw emotion written on the pages. Leaving me with my parents tore her apart.”

Remus looked into her eyes. “I would not have been able to let you go, Hermione.”

Hermione reached across the table and placed her hand on his. He put his other hand over hers rubbing it. He seemed to calm down at the touch.

"So, we can both agree that she made the best decision for all of us. We also agree that it was a difficult one, one that no one should ever have to make," Hermione said, resolutely.

Remus squeezed her hand in agreement.

She continued, “I think that fate meant for your daughter to be best friends with James’ son. And now here we are. Magic has a way of putting us where we need to be.”

“Fate sure is a fickle, fickle mistress.” 

“That she is Remus, that she is. I guess while we are having this conversation, I am extremely happy to be able to call myself Teddy's sister. He is such a sweet boy and I too have always dreamed of having a sibling. I don't know what our relationship would be like since I'm so much older. I know I really do want to be a part of your family, if you and Tonks want that too.”

Before Remus could say anything, she continued, “I talked with my therapist and parents about what I wanted from my biological parents if I ever found them. If they were bad people, I would not have reached out. I would have come to terms with it and moved on. I am glad that fate was much kinder to me. I am not related to a crazy death eater or some random person. I think I won the genetic lottery. Allison was such a strong, stubborn, and gifted witch. I see a lot of myself in her and Alice. From her, I got Neville, Hannah, and the twins to count among my family.”

Remus smiled at her and she continued, “Even better, my second favorite professor from Hogwarts is actually my biological father. You are a powerful, intelligent, and fiercely loyal wizard. I can see my mastery of wandless magic comes from you and maybe you can help me to hone it even more. And to top all that off, a brother and Tonks to add into the mix of my family.”

Remus sighed. “I was worried you would be disappointed that in the end, it was me who is your biological father.”

Hermione laughed. “The exact opposite, Remus.”

“Hermione, I want you to be a part of the family, as much as you want to be. Tonks and I talked last night. I want you to know that I care about you and you are part of my heart. I am here as much as you want or need. I figure that you can always use another caring adult in your corner. We would love to have you as part of our family.”

“Well good, that settles it then.” She grinned and grabbed the carafe of coffee and poured herself another cup.

“Harry told me how Teddy reacted to news of baby announcements. As a child of a mother who too could not have another child, I am so excited to get to be his big sister. I never thought I would ever have a sibling.”

“Tonks and I wanted to have more children, but the war left more lasting damage than we initially thought. I thought it was me and my condition. Until last night, Teddy was the only known baby born to a werewolf parent. But we found out that it was not due to my furry problem but to scarring from the curse that almost killed the two of us during the final battle.”

“That could not have been easy, Remus.” Hermione squeezed his hand in comfort.

Remus nodded sadly. “It was not but the war took so much from everyone. Hell, Tonks and I are lucky to be alive after that curse from Bellatrix hit us. While we mourned the loss of what could have been, we live every day grateful that we get to wake up to Teddy jumping on our bed. But Teddy, he doesn't know about all that.”

“Teddy still has that innocence that we all fought so hard to secure for this generation of children. It's hard to see that look on his face when a baby is announced by the family.” Remus finished his cup of coffee and smiled at her. “I cannot tell you how excited he is going to be. Are you okay with us telling him together this morning?”

Hermione nodded enthusiastically at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A while later, Hermione walked into Teddy’s room. Potter Manor was a large home and Harry ensured that all his friends and family had their own room. He told her that he wanted his home to be a place where everyone gathered and could call their home too. He wrote in his letters when he was fixing up Potter Manor that this was his way of healing the hurt the Dursley’s had done.

Teddy’s room was decorated with magical creatures in mind. There was a large painted mural on one wall of the room, that had unicorns, hippogriffs, pixies, nibblers, and so many other creatures running around a woodland area. The headboard of the bed was an ornately carved sleeping baby dragon. 

Toys were spread all over the room, evidence that he must have played with them during the night.

She looked down at Teddy and her heart filled with so much joy. That little ragamuffin was her brother. Just under a month ago, she was an only child with no known biological relations. Now she had nieces, cousins, a biological father, a little brother, parents that loved her, and a green-eyed boyfriend.

Teddy was sprawled out over the bed, the comforter was pushed to the end of the bed and the sheets were tangled around his legs. His arm was holding his green alligator to his side.

“Teddy Bear, it's time to get up,” she sang the words.

He turned and snuggled into his stuffed animal moving away from her voice. 

She sat down on the bed and poked his side.

Teddy giggled but still hid his face.

She tickled him again and he rolled over, squealing, “Nee Nee, no tickling.”

“I know but it really is the best way to wake you and me up. So Bear, Harry cooked us a yummy breakfast, and then I wanted to show you something in the library after if you’ll get up.”

Teddy tried to jump up from the bed but the sheets caused him to fall into Hermione. She wrapped her arms around him hugging him close. “Careful, Bear.”

She helped him untangle his feet and he stood up. 

“Can I stay in my pajamas?” he asked.

“I am, so why not? Don't want our waffles to get cold do we?” She grabbed his hand and they walked out of his room.

“That's right, Nee Nee.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had an excellent breakfast of waffles and fruit. Teddy was talking a mile a minute. He kept trying to guess what they were going to look at in the library, much to everyone’s amusement knowing the real answer was going to rock his world.

“Nee Nee, I am done with my food. Can we please go to the library now?” Teddy set down his fork and let out an exasperated sigh.

Around his mouth were remnants of the chocolate sauce and strawberries. 

Hermione pointed to his face. “How about you clean up your face first, silly one.”

Teddy grabbed the napkin and dipped it in his water cup. He quickly cleaned his face and smiled at her. 

“Done.”

Remus added, “So little man what we want to show you is in the library at our house. We'll go home and get ready for the day while we wait for Harry and Hermione to get dressed.”

“Cool, oh that means I can show Nee Nee my collection of dragons in my room. It's so cool. I have this Hungarian Horntail that Harry says looks exactly like the one he battled. And oh the coolest and rarest one I have is the purple Norwegian Ridgeback, there were only ten of them ever made. I found it in Daddy’s old toys--”

As he paused to take another breath, Hermione stood up, “well then I say it's time to get dressed and go to your house. I cannot wait to see the dragons.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione and Harry flooed to the Lupin’s house. They walked out of the large fireplace and into the bright kitchen. Tonks was sitting at the island, Remus standing beside her.

“Welcome.” Remus smiled at the couple. “Hermione, I keyed you into the wards so you can apparate here any time.”

“Thanks, I much prefer traveling that way.”

Tonks pointed upstairs. “Teddy is upstairs cleaning his room, he has to make sure it is presentable for you, Hermione. Getting the star treatment today.”

Remus laughed. “Shall we go to the library?”

Teddy came running down the stairs, “wait for me. I am here.”

Tonk scooped him up in her arms, “ready for the surprise, little man?”

He nodded. “Yes, mummy, I am.” He wrapped his arms around her and the five of them headed to the library.

“Nee Nee, our library is not as big as Harry’s but size is not everything. We have some really cool books.”

Hermione had to bite back a laugh. “What's your favorite book, Teddy?”

Remus opened the double doors and they walked into the library

“I’ll show you.” Tonks set Teddy down and he ran into the library and around a corner.

Hermione instantly felt at home in the library. The simple brown walls mixed with the brightly colored bookcases were an eclectic mix of Remus and Tonks personalities. There were ten shelves filled to the brim with books and there was a massive table in between the shelves with some very cushy chairs surrounding it.

Teddy skipped back over to the adults with a red leather-bound book in his hand that he handed to Hermione. “This book is about dragons. Dragons are my favorite creature and there's a ton of books about them here. Daddy says that Grand Pappa collected them and is a piece of him for me. He died during the war.”

Hermione took the book and flipped through it. “This is really cool, Teddy. I have never read this before. Do you mind if I borrow it?”

Teddy nodded. “So---” he danced around on his toes, “you wanted to show me something right?”

Remus laughed. “Follow me, son. We have some official family business to show you and attend to.”

Teddy followed Remus around as he grabbed the family lineage book. Hermione and Harry sat down at the table. Remus sat beside Hermione and Teddy climbed on to his lap.

“Daddy, what are we doing?” Teddy asked and Hermione tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

Teddy turned towards her. “I found out that I was adopted a few years ago. Do you know what that means?”

Teddy nodded. “Your mommy and daddy that you lived with were not your--” she could see the frustration on his face. “I don't remember the word, Nee Nee.”

“Biological parents.”

“So your mummy and daddy were not your biological parents?”

“You know how your mummy carried you in her belly for nine months. My mum didn't do that. My biological mummy carried me in her tummy and gave birth to me. She then found my mummy and daddy who adopted me when I was a teeny tiny baby because of the war.”

Teddy nodded. “You were adopted. Who is your biological mummy and daddy?”

Hermione smiled. "My biological mum was a woman named Allison Harwood, she fought in the war, and unfortunately, she died.”

"I'm sorry, Nee Nee."

“It is sad Teddy, but she was a really brave lady."

Teddy scratched his cheek. "Do you know who your daddy is?"

She took a deep breath and said, "well, my daddy is also your daddy."

Teddy looked at her as he processed what she just said. She watched as the realization passed over his face. “So, if my Daddy is your daddy--”

She could see the wheels in his brain putting everything together. “Nee Nee, does that mean you are my sister?”

“Yes, Teddy I am.” Hermione knew that she would never forget the look on his face. Teddy’s grey eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. Hermione could not get over the fact that he just called her sister, that was a first for her.

Tears began to form in his eyes, “Nee Nee, I always wanted a sister. Is this really real?”

Hermione nodded and Teddy launched himself into her arms. She held him close to her and cried with him.

“Hey, little brother.” Hermione wiped the tears from his cheeks.

Teddy climbed up on the table and turned to Remus. “How come daddy wasn't with you?"

Hermione saw the sad look on Remus' face and quickly answered. “Teddy, I know you have been told about the war and it was a really bad time. Daddy had to help fight in it and I needed to be safe somewhere where no one could hurt me.”

Teddy patted Remus’s hand. “That makes sense, I am glad that daddy and your mummy kept you safe.”

Remus put his hand over Teddy’s and smiled. 

“Nee Nee, I am so glad you get to be my sister, I promise I’m going to be the bestest little brother you have ever had.” 

Everyone laughed at his exuberance. 

Teddy looked at Hermione with a serious expression. “Nee Nee, you are not going back to Australia, are you? Because I am here and Harry is here and Daddy is here.”

“Don’t worry little brother, I am not going anywhere. And I am going to be the best big sister you have ever had, Teddy.”

Teddy turned around and asked Tonks, “Mummy, does this mean that she is going to live with us?”

Tonks shook her head. “No, Teddy, she won't be. Hermione is an adult, she gets to live on her own. But if she ever needs a place to stay, she always has a place here with us.” 

Hermione smiled at the sentiment.

Teddy pouted at his mother. 

“But don't worry son, I am sure you will see her all the time at Potter manor. She will probably be there more than you are.”

Teddy spun around and looked at Harry. “Harry, is Nee Nee living with you? I am so jealous.”

The blush on Harry’s face was endearing to Hermione. “Yep, I have my room at his house and Longbottom manor and with your Uncle Sirius.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “Between you and me, I like Potter manor the most.”

Teddy whispered in her ear, “me too.”

“Now we are going to add Hermione to our family book,” Remus said as he opened the book. “This is the Lupin Family Lineage book. We can trace the Lupin family back a few hundred years.”

“Daddy is mummy and me in that book?” Teddy watched intently as Remus flipped through the pages.

“When me and your mummy got married, we added her to the book. Then when you were born we had a small party with our friends and at the end of the party we added your name.” Remus set the book open and pointed out Teddy’s name.

Hermione saw the name written in a very fancy script. Teddy reached over and traced it with his finger. “That's me, Daddy.”

“And that is me.” Tonks pointed to her name after she set down a very fancy looking quill on the table. 

“Thanks, dear.” Remus opened the ink and dipped the quill into it. He handed Hermione the quill. “You get the honor of writing your name.”

He pointed to the spot to the left next to Teddy’s name. Teddy was right by her side as she signed, Hermione Jean-Harwood-Lupin Granger.

“What a mouthful of a name.” She laughed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy did not leave her side for the rest of the day. He set out to show her around the whole house. Eventually, they played with his dragons and read through his books. At the end of the day, the only thing that made Teddy feel better about them leaving was when Hermione reminded him that in two days he would be back at Potter Manor for their Wolfie night slumber party.

The hug he gave Hermione at the end of the night made her so happy. “I love you, brother. Now, you be a good boy for your mummy and daddy, and Friday we'll get to have a lot of fun.”

Tonks led the slightly sad boy upstairs to get ready for bed, he turned around and yelled, “I love you, Nee Nee, my sister.”

“Love you too, Teddy.”

Remus smiled at Hermione, “this was one of the best days of his life.”

She hugged him. “Was a top one in mine, Remus.” 

“Good night, Hermione. Next week we will arrange that dinner with your parents?”

She nodded and stepped into the floo with Harry, moments later they were gone.

Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione after they exited the floo. “This was a good day.”

Hermione turned in his arms, tears falling down her cheeks. She held onto his shirt with a death grip for some time until she got her emotions under control. “I always wanted a brother, Harry. It felt so good today. His little hugs are worth a million galleons.”

“I am happy for you, Hermione. A bit jealous but happy.” Harry sighed as they walked towards the library.

“Just think when we get married, he will be your brother-in-law so technically you’ll have a brother too.” She jumped slightly, startled by the words that had spilled without even thinking. She could easily see a whole future here, with Harry.

Harry captured her lips in a kiss before she could start babbling. “That sounds like a perfect plan, Hermione.”


	21. Chapter 21 - Wolfie Night Slumber Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help on this fic!!! Would not be the same without her help!!!!!!
> 
> Happy Thanksgiving to those of you in the USA. Please enjoy this EXTRA LONG 19 page chapter… so many feels cause you know I had to write that Wolfie night slumber party!!!!!!! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 21

Hermione and Harry apparated over to the Burrow after they left the Lupin’s. Harry walked into the Burrow to surprise Molly with their visit and to cook her dinner. She gave Molly a hug and headed outside to find her parents and tell them the news.

Hermione walked into the backyard and saw her mum laying on a hammock. She was reading a book with a glass of wine in her hand.

“Oh, mummy dearest,” Hermione yelled.

Jean jumped in shock, the book flew out of her hands. Hermione levitated her glass to keep it from falling all over her mum’s nice yellow shirt. 

Not very gracefully, Jean got out of the hammock and put her hands on her hips. “Young lady, you are going to give me a heart attack.

She grabbed the wine glass and finished the last sips. She set it on the table and grinned. “Come give your mummy a hug.”

Hermione relaxed into her mother's embrace and they danced around the yard for a bit.

“I am so glad to see you lovely.” Jean pushed the hair out of her face and noticed the serious expression on her face.

“I have some news. Is dad around too?”

“He is working on the car. Let's go find him” She kept her arm wrapped around Hermione’s shoulder. They walked to the extra-large garage that Arthur built last year to keep his pet projects in.

“Ed.” Jean made sure not to startle him since he was working underneath the elevated car. “Our offspring came to visit and wanted to talk.”

Edward pushed out from under the car and sat up and smiled at Hermione. “Hey, you.”

“Hey, daddy. Want to go out into the orchard?”

Edward got up and put the tools back into the red tool chest. He made his way over to the sink and washed his hands and face. Hermione summoned a blanket from the porch and started off towards the orchard.

Jean grabbed Edwards’s hand and they followed slowly behind.

“Ed, she looks so serious.”

“It could be anything love. At least I don't see a ring on that finger. If she and Potter move any faster, I am going to lock her up in her damn room and throw away the key. My heart can't take this--”

Jean smacked his arm. “Edward, we like Harry.”

“Yea yea just because I like him doesn't mean that I am okay with all this--”

Jean stopped Edward before they got close to Hermione. “Edward, I know you are protective of our daughter but these two have been waiting for this for years. She has known the man for more than a decade and they're good for each other. Do not have some macho hissy fit.”

Edward nodded. “Dear, that is why I am not pitching a fit in front of them. I want my daughter to be happy and begrudgingly I will admit that he makes her happy. I have never seen her like this and I love that she is happy. But I am her father and I can be protective and if he ever hurts my daughter, I was a dentist and I know how to make things hurt---”

Jean shook her head. “I know, love, I know. Let's join our daughter.”

They walked hand and hand until they reached Hermione, who was seated under a peach tree.

They sat on the blanket and Hermione picked at a leaf that had fallen. 

She looked up at her parents. “So you know that I went to Harwood manor last week. Well, we found some of her journals. But ended up having to go to Hogwarts two days ago and found the rest of the journals.” 

“I am glad you did. Did you find anything useful?” Edward asked.

“Yes, I did, daddy, and so much more.” Hermione reached for Jean’s hand and grasped it. “Mum, all those memories that Allison inserted into your mind were her actual memories. She wrote so many stories in the journals and it made me feel like you were right there telling me the stories. The morning sickness and throwing up in the park, that happened to her.”

Jean smiled. “I had a feeling that they were her actual memories. They are vivid and had to be real, given what the Doctor and I talked about real versus made-up memories. Did you find out anything else lovely?”

Hermione grabbed Edwards’ hand with her left hand and kept Jean’s in her right. “I found out who my biological father is.”

“Really?” Jean exclaimed.

“Who he is and not was?” Edward asked in a curt tone.

Hermione gave him a curious look. “Yes, he is alive dad.” 

She watched him tense up but Jean let out a happy laugh interrupting her asking about his tone.

“That is amazing, Hermione. So, who is he?”

“It's Remus Lupin. He and Allison were on assignment together after Hogwarts.”

“I remember him from the party. He is married to Nymphadora and he has a cute little boy, Teddy,” Jean said.

“Yes, mum. We spent the day together today after we told Teddy. But I digress, let me start with dinner we had. After we got back from Hogwarts I spent the day reading through the journals. I quickly realized that whomever Allison was assigned to on assignment after the war was my biological father. So the other night Harry and I were going through our Allison timeline and notes with Remus. Almost right away Remus said that he was assigned with her. They were not dating, neither wanted any entanglements.”

“Entanglements? So, he left when she was pregnant?” Edward asked curtly assuming the worst.

Hermione was a bit taken aback by the tone in his voice and pulled her hand back. 

“You taught me that assumptions make an ass out of you. Please do not--.”

Jean held her hands up getting their attention. She could see the explosion that was about to happen. “Hermione, please continue with your story sans sarcasm. Edward, please listen to your daughter and don't snark.”

Hermione could see the hurt in his eyes and sighed. She hugged him, realizing that this was a bit of a shock to him. “I am sorry. Daddy.”

Edward took a deep breath and hugged her close. “I am sorry too, can you please continue? You are not an entanglement to us.”

She sat back on her heels holding his hands. “Daddy, he didn’t know. She kept me a secret from him because she found out he is a werewolf. She was raised to have a prejudice against werewolves, even though he is not bad. People assume the worst.”

Edward sighed and held her hands letting her tell the story.

“Remus was attacked when he was five by an evil man, who is dead now. He was intentionally infected because his father made a comment about werewolves that Fenrir did not like. So he turns into a werewolf once a month. Lycanthropy is like type 1 diabetes or some other lifelong condition that he has to live with. He is not dangerous. But Allison did not know that and very few people can see the man behind the wolf. That and she was scared the Death Eaters were going to use me as leverage to make her family join the dark side. She hid me to keep me safe.”

Edward nodded. “I don't want this hurting you, Hermione. I have been worried about this journey of yours and if you would be disappointed in the end. I cannot stand to see you hurt.”

“Daddy, Remus is a good man. He was devastated when he found out. She took me from him too and didn't give him a chance to know me. While we both agree that it was for the best given the situation during and after the war, he was still robbed of the chance to know he had a daughter.”

Tears welled in her eyes as Edwards' gaze softened. “Please know this, Daddy, I am very glad. When I thought of all the people that my biological father could have been, I never even considered that I could be someone I knew from the Order. I was so scared it would be a death eater--”

Tears fell down her cheeks and Edward pulled her back into his lap.

She continued to talk through the tears. “I didn’t think it would be someone that I already know and love. Remus has been a mentor to me and he is Harry’s uncle and Teddy’s dad. He is a caring person.”

Edward felt his heart drop. Jean saw the jealousy pass over his face for a moment. But quickly left as he turned his attention towards comforting his daughter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Harry,” Hermione yelled from outside the door to their bedroom. “Teddy is going to be here soon.”

Harry yelled something unintelligible. She could still hear the water running from his shower. She shook her head. She swore he had been in there for half an hour.

She sighed and walked downstairs, knowing they would be there promptly at three.

“Sister!” Teddy yelled as he ran from the floo and into Hermione’s arms. “I missed you so much.” 

Hermione picked him up and spun him around laughing. “Missed you too, little brother.” 

She set him down and kissed the top of his head. “I need your help, Teddy. Your Uncle Harry is up there and taking too long in the shower. I think you should go find him and throw one of these into the shower.”

She handed Teddy a bucket with water balloons and his face lit up. “Nee Nee, are we going to get to play with them later too?”

“We are going to have a water balloon fight by the pool after tea.”

“Yes.” he pumped his fist and grabbed the bucket.

He quickly ran up the stairs as Remus walked into the living room.

“I have to go find Harry, daddy,” and laughed maniacally as he ran up the stairs.

Remus chuckled and turned to Hermione. “Do I even want to know why he sounds like he is getting into trouble?” 

“It’s a sibling thing,” she said all nonchalantly like she had been a sister for so long.

“Already getting into trouble together? I like it. Teddy has been talking non-stop about tonight. He was up at eight this morning asking when we could go.”

Remus wrapped Hermione in a bear hug. He took a deep breath and held her tight. “I will admit my wolf was a bit impatient to get here too. Been a bit on edge today.”

“It's been an emotional week for all of us. I can only imagine how your wolf feels.” She met his eyes trying to convey the understanding. “I am very glad to see you too.”

Harry's yells and Teddy's giggles flowed from upstairs.

Hermione grinned at Remus' questioning expression. “Had to get back at him for waking me up much too early this morning. Do you have time for some tea?”

Remus smiled. “Yea, I have time.”

She motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen. “I convinced my ever-helpful shadow that I did not need her to make us tea. Apparently, every slumber party with Teddy is a vacation for the Potter elves. Miss Talila thought she was exempt from that.”

They walked around the corner and into the vacant kitchen.

“This morning I quickly corrected that thinking. I want her to have time off. It took a lot to convince her. Thankfully, Harry’s elves were going to go show her the village they were building on the property and she has been gone ever since.”

“Not used to all the help?” Remus walked over to the stove and grabbed the kettle. He filled it with water and turned on the burner.

“I can manage just fine on my own but I am learning that having her help is nice. I am especially thankful for her making breakfast every day because I am not a morning person.” She grabbed a box of crackers from the pantry and set it on the island.

“Hey, Remus are you a morning person? My mum and dad are so damn chipper in the morning it’s annoying. During school, I had a strict schedule and wake up time to get me up and going for the day but over the last four years, I remembered how much I hate mornings. The Codex doesn’t open till ten, so I get to sleep in every day.”

“I think that's genetic because Teddy and I both are not morning people either. My work hours vary, but usually, we don't start till after nine o'clock.”

“Fascinating, I am probably going to ask you lots of these questions because I am just too damn curious.”

“I am interested to see too and get to know you even more. The question of nature versus nurture is fascinating.”

She smiled at him, glad that he was just as intellectual as she was and didn’t take her curiosity the wrong way. She walked to the fridge and grabbed the plate of already sliced cheese and meats. “Teddy likes cheese and crackers right?” 

“Yes, he loves that.”

“Good, I like having this and one sweet thing with afternoon tea,” Hermione said.

“That sounds like a healthy decision. That boy has enough energy he doesn't need any more sugar.”

Hermione walked back over to the island. Remus was setting crackers on four plates. 

“We seem to be on the same wavelength.” She grinned at him and started putting cheese and meat on each of the plates.

Remus grabbed the tea box from the cupboard above the stove and started looking through it. Hermione tapped on the box to get his attention, “I have a chai tea that I brought back from Australia if you would prefer that. Chai is my favorite.”

“That sounds perfect. I like chai and my senses are a bit dulled by the wolfsbane, so strong flavors are best.”

She pointed to an ornately decorated tin on the island and turned to grab the kettle as it whistled. 

Remus opened the tea container and smelled spicy cinnamon, clove, and ginger. Hermione brought the kettle over to the island and set it down on an ornate metal trivet.

Remus grabbed the tea pods and filled them with the loose leaf tea. Hermione pulled out the teacups and set them next to the plates.

“Does Teddy like chai?” she asked as she placed the pods in each of the cups.

“Maybe? Leave his empty for now. I’ll have him try mine to see if he likes it.”

Hermione nodded and filled three of the cups with hot water.

“So Remus, if you don't mind me asking, what do you do on full moons?”

“I don't mind you asking. After the war, we built a small house in the mountains on our property. We call it the Lunar house. The house was made with unbreakable windows that look out on the property. Bill and I worked for a few days to secure the house with runes and wards to keep me in there. Tonks, Bill, Sirius, and Harry are the only ones keyed into the wards and the only ones able to apparate into or out of the house. So, I have no way of getting out once I transform since there are no doors.” 

He paused and added sugar and cream to his tea. “I take wolfsbane, of course, and have not missed a dose since that time in your third year. Tonks and I usually make a simple dinner and then she apparates us into the house.”

“I am glad she is there with you. I would hate to think you are facing these nights by yourself.” Hermione mirrored his actions with her tea.

“Believe me, it was not my choice at first. She would not leave me during these nights. I got tired of fighting with her every month and she really does calm down my wolf. She makes these nights more normal for me because she is there by my side. Teddy either stays with Harry, Andromeda, or another friend of ours. We wanted to find some way to normalize this experience for him.

“He is still probably too young to really understand or comprehend the gravity of all of it.” Remus nodded at her observation. “Hell, I think Harry, Ron, and I were too young when we found out.”

“James and Sirius were too young too. So for Teddy, it’s a fun night where he gets to choose from the available people who he wants to stay with. Harry is usually the top one and I think he has hosted him almost every Wolfie night this year.”

“Daddy, that’s because I love it here.” Teddy walked into the kitchen and sat down beside Remus. Water droplets fell from his hair onto the floor.

“Son, why are you wet?” Remus asked when he noticed that Teddy’s hair and clothes were soaked.

Hermione laughed and Teddy grinned at her.

“I found Harry like my sister told me to,” he said innocently.

Harry walked into the kitchen and glared at Hermione. “You are mean Hermione Jean-Harwood-Lupin Granger. You gave him ice water balloons. He came in when I just got out of the shower and was drying off.”

Hermione could not keep in the giggles at the glower on his face. “Well, you were taking way too long Harry and you woke me up way too early this morning--.”

Hermione could see the wheels in his head scheming and knew that he would get back at her later. She would have to be ready at any moment which was exciting.

Harry sat down beside Teddy, still eyeing Hermione. “So, I dumped a bucket of water on him.”

Remus shook his head at his nephew and son. “You two are a bit ridiculous.” He put the plate snacks in front of Teddy. “We made chai tea, do you want to try it?”

Teddy nodded and took a sip. His face instantly wrinkled up and he shook his head, “can I have just regular tea or that peach one that Harry made?”

Hermione poured hot water into the cup and Remus grabbed the peach tea bag.

Hermione pushed the cup towards Harry after she added sugar to it. “Here you go, dear, hope it warms you up.”

Remus finished his tea and set his cup down, “and on that note, I am out of here. You three have fun. Love you, kiddos.”

“I love you, daddy.” Teddy grinned when Remus kissed the top of his head.

“Oh, we will. I have to get even at these two stinkers,” Harry said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later a thoroughly drenched trio stood on the deck of Potter manor looking out at the area covered in water and little balloon fragments. Harry used his wand to gather all the balloon pieces and sent them to the recycling bin. 

The afternoon started with Harry throwing Hermione in the pool to get even for the ice balloons. He chased Teddy around the manor grounds trying to catch him and throw him in the pool too. Teddy ended the race by doing a cannonball into the pool. This started a heated war of water balloons and super soakers. 

Teddy started on Hermione’s team but ended up switching halfway through, after striking a truce with Harry. Harry was proud that she held them off for as long as she had. Her use of the garden hose to create a water fence was ingenious. But, Teddy struck the final blow with an extra-large balloon that he dropped from the diving board tower on to her head when she was distracted defending herself from Harry.

“Good game, guys,” Hermione said as Harry gave Teddy a high five, “but next time I am inviting Victoire over and we are going to own the two of you.”

Hermione used a spell to dry them off as they walked towards the house. 

“I think it's time for us to get on our pajamas and make dinner? Hey Ted, I was thinking instead of ravioli, we could make homemade pizzas. Hermione has never had our famous woodfire pizzas.”

Teddy skipped ahead of them and stopped at the mention of pizza. “YES!” He jumped up and down. “Harry, can I make the crust on my own this time?”

Harry nodded, “that's right, Teddy. Make sure you put your dirty clothes into the laundry basket.”

Teddy ran up the stairs ahead of them. Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand and they walked to the master bedroom. While Hermione still had her room in the manor, she was finding herself spending all of her time here. 

Hermione walked into the closet at the back of the bedroom. His closet was the size of her bedroom at the beach house. Talila had taken it upon herself to move most of Hermione’s clothes into the closet. She grabbed a pair of sweats from her dresser and one of Harry’s quidditch shirts and changed.

“I like that shirt on you, Hermione.” Harry ran his hand across her back as he walked into the closet to grab his pajamas.

“Me too and it smells like you.” She lifted the collar to her nose and breathed in deep. “How do we keep up with the ball of energy that is Teddy?”

“He will be a lot calmer now that we played for a long time. I always plan something very physical to do at the beginning of the slumber party so I can bring his energy level down. Otherwise, he would be a mess in the kitchen.”

Harry wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her cheek as Teddy knocked on the door. 

“Ready?” Teddy yelled through the door.

Harry opened the door and found Teddy standing there holding a purple dragon stuffed animal above his head. “Herbert is going to join us.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why do you call it Hawaiian pizza?” Teddy looked skeptically at Hermione.

She scattered pineapple over the dough as she explained. “It's called Hawaiian because the pineapple he used for the pizza was from Hawaii. See this guy in Canada made the pizza because he liked Chinese dishes that mix sweet and savory foods together. That is why I love this pizza so much, it is salty, sweet, and so delicious. But of course, I add more toppings to up the flavor.” She pointed to the pepperoni, onions, and bacon.

“Nee Nee, fruit doesn't go on pizzas--.” Teddy shook his head.

“Technically you put fruit on yours,” she said matter of factly.

“Nee Nee I only have olives and cheese on mine. No fruit.”

“A tomato is a fruit so you put fruit puree on it.” She stuck her tongue out at him and sprinkled a bunch of parmesan cheese over hers to finish it off.

Teddy stopped. “Nee Nee sometimes you know too much stuff--.” 

“She knows way too much but that is what makes her our Hermione.” Harry laughed at the debate going on between the two of them.

“Mine is ready for the oven Chef,” Hermione said.

Harry grabbed her pizza. “Aye aye captain, I will add yours to ours.” 

Harry walked outside.

Hermione ruffled Teddy’s hair. “Do you want to try some of my pizza when it's done?”

Teddy thought about it for a while and finally answered, “maybe.”

He jumped down from the stool and headed to the door. “I am going to help Harry.”

Hermione smiled at him. He had been just as attentive tonight as the first time she cooked with him. For all his energy he was very calm once he put on that apron. He took his time and was methodical. 

Harry set out the recipe for him to follow when they started. Hermione looked it over and the recipe was set into the most basic steps that a five-year-old could follow. Teddy looked over the recipe a few times before gathering all of the ingredients from the pantry. He ended up making the crust recipe twice since it made two servings. Hermione and Harry sat on the other side of the island and watched him. They did not have to intervene since he had made it many times before with Harry’s help.

Hermione got out all of the ingredients and made a caesar salad to go with their pizza. That last ball of dough wrapped in plastic caught her attention. She grabbed the rolling pin and started flattening it into a square.

She walked into the massive pantry and quickly found the hazelnut spread, bananas, and strawberries. Dessert pizza was a favorite of hers. She spread the hazelnut spread over the dough. Hermione started cutting the fruit into small slices and arranged them on the pizza.

“Nee Nee, I do want to try your pizza. It smells so good.” Teddy was holding the door open and Harry carried in their pizzas on a large cutting board.

“I want to try it too, Love.” Harry set down the pizzas.

Hermione laughed. “We can share and always make more. Harry throw this one in the oven for dessert. I’ll cut the pizzas.”

Harry grabbed the pizza and headed back outside.

“Dessert pizza, so cool. Nee Nee, I will set the table, do we need forks?”

“Yep. For the salad.” She grabbed the pizza cutter and proceeded to cut their dinner.

Harry grabbed the salad bowl and took it to the sunroom off the kitchen. “Little man, you want to help me get the dessert pizza? It should be done soon.”

“Can I try to get it out by myself?”

“Buddy, you’re not tall enough yet to get it out of the oven. You need a few more inches, don't want to drop the pizza.” Teddy nodded in understanding. “But you can move it from the pizza paddle to the cutting board. And carry it into the kitchen. ” 

“Okay.” Teddy grinned.

Harry ruffled his hair as they walked into the kitchen.

They ate a delicious pizza dinner and once their dessert pizza was finished, they quickly dug into the sweet concoction. After cleaning up, they decided to watch a movie. Hermione and Teddy went to set up the movie room and Harry made popcorn. 

He walked up the stairs with a huge bowl of popcorn. He had renovated one of the sitting rooms on the second floor into a theatre room. Movies had been his refuge during his year of healing and especially after his therapy sessions. It was a space for him to destress and relax. He splurged on the latest and greatest when he was designing the room. 

Seamus founded a company after Hogwarts that adapted muggle technologies to work within the wizarding world. Harry had been his first investor and guinea pig for a lot of technology. That is why he had the latest and greatest video projector. It was connected to his DVD player that played the movie on the large wall.

He set up stadium seating with recliners towards the top and bottom of the stairs. Harry much preferred the couches in the middle rows.

Hermione and Teddy were already seated with a large fluffy blanket over their legs. Harry sat next to Hermione and placed the bowl on the tray table in front of her.

“Teddy chose Mighty Ducks.” Hermione pulled the bowl into her lap.

“Sounds good to me.” Harry put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders and she pressed play.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Harry, can we watch number two?” Teddy looked over and noticed that Hermione was asleep. “Nee Nee must be tired.”

Harry nodded, “can you put in the movie?”

“Yea, you're kind of stuck.” Teddy grabbed the empty popcorn bowl and put it on the tray and ran down to the library of DVDs. He found the movie and put it in the DVD player.

He sat back down and looked at Harry. “Harry, I wanted you to know you are still my favorite Uncle.”

Harry waited for Teddy to continue, he did not know where this was coming from.

“I know I am super excited to see Nee Nee all the time and I am so happy she is my sister. But I didn’t want you to think I didn't want to see you too.” Teddy looked like he was going to cry. “I love you so much--”

“Come over here, Teddy,” Harry motioned with his hand to his other side.

Teddy snuggled into Harry’s side. Harry rubbed his back. “Teddy please don't cry, little man. I know that you love me and I love you too. You loving Hermione as much as you do makes my heart so happy.”

Teddy wiped the tears away. “I never had a sister before Harry and I am just so happy.”

“I am so happy for you too little man.”

Teddy looked at Harry sheepishly. “I wanna ask you something but Daddy says sometimes I am too curious and ask awkward questions.”

“You can ask me and if it's not appropriate, I will tell you.”

“Okay, so Harry do you like Hermione like daddy likes mummy?” Teddy asked.

Harry nodded. “Yes, I do. Hermione has been my best friend for all my life. Then three weeks ago, I got the courage to ask her out because I really liked her. So we went out on our first date three weeks ago. We went to Culpepper garden and we had a really good time. I love your sister with all of my heart Teddy and she is the best thing that has happened to me.”

“She is the best thing to happen to me too Harry. We both love Nee Nee so much.” Teddy stared out into the darkness in the room.

“Harry, do you think you will marry Nee Nee someday like Uncle Draco is marrying Ginny next week?”

Harry stopped and stared at the little boy. He drew in a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. He had been thinking about that thought a lot lately. And while he knew it was too soon to ask her but he had a feeling it would be happening sooner than later. He could not wait to marry the girl that was by his side.

Harry nodded, “One day I will ask your sister if she will marry me and I sure hope that she says yes.”

Teddy laughed. “Nee Nee will say yes, I just know it, Harry. She loves you too. So, does that mean that I get to be the ring bear for you too?”

Teddy had been practicing his role as ring bearer for Ginny and Draco’s wedding over the last month. After Draco asked Teddy to be the ring bearer in their wedding, Harry helped him to understand his role in the wedding and why it was so important that he takes his role seriously. He had a practice ring that he would carry around in his pocket and be responsible for it all day. On the day of, he would only have the rings for less than thirty minutes in his pocket but Teddy was an overachiever. So he kept the play ring safe for a full month and counting. He was very invested in their big day and was excited to share it with Harry, who was Draco’s best man.

Harry laughed and whispered in his ear, “I think you will be a groomsman. I need my main man by my side. You can teach Alex or one of your other Weasley cousins how to be the ring bearer for my wedding.”

“I can't wait for that, Harry.”

“Me too, little buddy but it won't be for at least a year. I have to ask Nee Nee first and then we have to plan a wedding.”

Teddy shook his head. “Please don't make me wait as long as Auntie Ginny and Uncle Draco did. It's been forever-- like a whole year waiting.”

Teddy snuggled into his side and Harry asked, “want to start the movie?”

“Yea.” Teddy pressed play on the remote. 

They continued to talk through the movie, it was one of their favorites to watch together. At the end of the movie, Harry declared that it was bedtime. 

Teddy kissed his cheek. “I can tuck myself in, Harry. You have to carry Nee Nee to her bed.”

Harry hugged Teddy. “Okay, big boy. I will see you in the morning.”

“Love you.” Teddy ran out of the room.

Harry stood up and Hermione woke up. Harry picked her up and she snuggled into his chest. Harry kicked open the door and laid Hermione down on the bed. He got into bed and pulled her to his side.

“I love you, Hermione.”

“Love you more, Harry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teddy was up early the next morning, he loved being in the manor. The house elves would be in the kitchen and he always loved talking to them. He saw that Harry’s door was still closed, which meant that he was asleep. Teddy made his way down to the kitchen and heard the noises of the house elves.

“Good morning Teddy.” Simey turned around when Teddy walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mister Simey. I hope you had a good night.” Teddy sat down at the counter. He knew he had to stay out of their way and not interrupt their work.

“Would you like some tea or hot chocolate?” Leela asked.

“Can I have hot chocolate, please?”

Teddy spent the morning talking to the elves. They were preparing a large breakfast for when his daddy came to pick him up. His daddy was always hungry after his wolfie nights.

Harry and Hermione came into the kitchen shortly after Teddy finished his hot chocolate. Talila brought over cups of coffee and a pastry for each of them. She shooed them out of the kitchen and said breakfast would be ready as soon as Remus and Tonks arrived. The trio made their way outside and walked around the gardens to play hide and seek.

Talila found Hermione right as Teddy found her hiding spot. She told Teddy to find Harry while she ran ahead to greet Remus and Tonks. 

Hermione walked into the solarium. “Good morning, you two. Your son is currently trying to find Harry in the garden. Hope you are ready for some food because the elves went a bit crazy.”

Tonks hugged Hermione. “Yes, we are starving. Sounds like a fun morning. I hope my boy was not too crazy last night.”

“Less crazy than your husband probably was.” Hermione sat down at the table and Tonks sat beside her.

“Teddy on his most hyper day has nothing on my Moony.” Tonks chuckled as Remus let out a laugh and took the seat next to his wife. “So, I heard that you guys had a water fight?”

“Yes, and the boys ended up siding against me. You’ll be proud Teddy struck the winning blow with an extra-large water balloon on my head from the diving tower.”

Harry and Teddy walked into the room. Harry took the seat beside Hermione.

“Mummy,” Teddy exclaimed and ran to her side hugging her.

“Hey, little man.” Tonks pulled him up into her lap.

“Daddy, the elves made french toast since it's your favorite. But I need bacon to soothe my inner bear this morning.” He grabbed a piece and shoved it into this mouth.

Remus ruffled his hair. “I see that.” He turned to Hermione. “Your mum sent us an owl and wanted to have dinner on Tuesday. Does this mean that you told them about us?”

Hermione grabbed french toast and bacon from the platters. She smiled at Remus. “Yes, I told them the day after we all found out. Tuesday sounds good to me for dinner.” She glanced in Harry's direction.

"Me too," he added. "I'm off this week. We can host."

“How did they take the news?” Tonks asked.

“Perfectly fine. My mum was excited and cannot wait to meet you again. She had only nice things to say from meeting you three at the party. Teddy stole their hearts with being the sweet boy he is.”

Teddy smiled at her and turned back to his food.

“And your dad?” Remus asked, a bit nervous.

Hermione looked into his eyes. “He immediately assumed the wrong things and I quickly corrected his ire. I told them the whole story.”

“I get that Hermione and I wouldn’t expect his response to be any different. If I heard this story from someone, I would have thought the same thing. Your dad is protective, as he should be.”

“Nee Nee,” Teddy interrupted and set his fork down on the table, “do I get to come to dinner with your mummy and daddy?”

Hermione nodded. “Of course, little brother. My mum is especially excited to see you again. You gotta make sure to show her your OG form so that she can see how alike we look.”

Teddy grinned and nodded, “I can do that Nee Nee, besides I have been staying in it more often cause I love that I look so much like you. But its still fun to change my hair to match Harry’s sometimes. So what can I call your mummy and daddy?”

“Nice segway son,” Tonks said. “I wanted to ask, what is everyone’s titles going to be? I think it's a bit weird, to people that don't know us to have Teddy call you his sister and Harry his uncle. I want to make sure he does not get confused.”

Teddy looked at her with a confused look. “Mummy, what is a segway and Harry is my Uncle and Nee Nee is my sister, what's wrong with that?”

“Lovely, some people may see that your daddy’s brother is dating your sister.”

"Harry isn’t Daddy’s brother--” Teddy stopped realizing how confusing it sounded, “oh okay, that is kind of weird Mummy. What should I call them?”

“That's why I asked, we get to figure that out as a family.” Tonks nodded at him.

Hermione pushed her food around her plate. "It would be complicated and slightly annoying to explain to people but it would also be hard to make Teddy change how he calls Harry. He's been his uncle his whole life."

Harry stayed silent throughout the conversation. He was trying to keep a calm head through this but it was getting harder. Teddy had been the first person that he had been in Harry's family since he was born. While logically he understood that sister trumped adopted uncle and should volunteer to be just Harry to Teddy. But it made his heart ache to think that Teddy would no longer call him uncle. Harry kept his eyes focused on the table until Teddy started talking again.

“Hey, Harry." Teddy smiled at him, "Do you think I can call you my big brother?”

Harry looked at Teddy with a curious expression, wondering where he had gotten that idea from.

“So Harry, Nee Nee is my sister. She can't be anything else. And Harry, you love her this much.” He held his arms out as far as he could. “I know you said you want to marry Nee Nee. So when you do you would be my brother of the law, right?"

Hermione didn't even skip a beat. “Yes Teddy, Harry would be your brother-in-law but most people just say brother.”

“See? I just get to start calling you brother faster. It's like Uncle Draco. He's going to be Uncle Ron’s brother when he gets married to Auntie Ginny.” He grabbed another piece of bacon.

Harry was choked up with emotion as he looked at Teddy. “Are you sure, Teddy? I can always be just Harry--”

Teddy frowned and loudly exclaimed, “Harry, you are not just anyone to me and my big brother is so much cooler than my uncle. I always wanted a brother or sister and now I have BOTH. This has been the best day ever.”

The conviction in Teddy’s voice made the tears fall down Harry’s cheeks as he nodded. “I love the idea of that Teddy Bear, my little brother--” his voice got choked up as he said it.

“Harry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Teddy set his fork down and ran around the table and climbed into Harry’s lap hugging him.

Harry held tight to Teddy. “I love you kiddo and I too always wanted a brother.”

“I love you even more.” Teddy kissed his cheek and giggled when Hermione hugged the two of them.

Remus stayed quiet during the conversation not trusting his voice. He and Tonks had discussed this question back at home and he didn’t know what the solution was. He was a bit taken aback that Harry was thinking about marriage but the smile on Hermione’s face when Teddy mentioned it, meant that that was not the first time it had been brought up between the couple. He looked at Harry as a son and he and Sirius had taken a fatherly role in his life since Hogwarts.

“What an elegant solution son.” Remus smiled at Harry and Hermione, “So it has been decided that Harry is your big brother and Hermione is your sister, I like that a lot.”

“Yes, and my first act as little brother to Harry is to feed you bacon to soothe your inner beast and one for Nee Nee too.” Teddy grabbed three pieces of bacon and handed a piece to Harry and Hermione. 

“So we are having dinner with your parents on Tuesday.” Hermione nodded as Teddy continued, “Nee Nee, what do I call your mummy and daddy?”

Hermione looked from Tonks to Remus questioningly.

Remus said, “Whatever you think they would want. I do not want to put any pressure on your parents. He has lots of Weasley and other friends as aunts and uncles and has Grammy Andromeda. So, if they want to be any of those, I am sure our Bear would love that.”

“I am very sure that they would love to be this little boy's grandparents.” She turned back to Teddy and asked, “That is if you want them to be.”

Teddy nodded enthusiastically. “YES, Nee Nee.”

“So you will call my mum, Mimsey, and my daddy, Poppa?”

Teddy smiled at her. “I am going to give them the biggest hug when I see them on Tuesday.”


	22. Chapter 22 - Ladies Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to the awesome Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) for all of her help alphaing and betaing the last half of the fic!!!!!!!!
> 
> Fun times with friends this chapter!!!!

Chapter 22

Hermione apparated to the Burrow after breakfast. Today was a day full of dress shopping and fittings with the wedding party. Everyone was meeting at the Burrow midday and would portkey to the dress shop in Paris. Ginny sent Hermione an owl the day before and had asked Hermione to meet her and Luna early to catch up.

She walked up the path to the lopsided house with a pep in her step. She was excited to spend the day with all the ladies and start her morning at her second childhood home. The Burrow always made her feel at home. She was hit by a wave of nostalgia with so many wonderful memories from her childhood and so many to come. 

“Hermione,” Molly yelled from the front yard, chickens surrounding her as she tossed food around her.

Hermione walked up and into Molly’s great big Weasley-sized hug. “How are you doing my dear? You have had a very crazy few weeks.”

Molly kissed the top of her head and handed her the chicken feed bucket and summoned the table scraps bucket from the porch.

“It has been a crazy few weeks, Molly. It's a roller coaster of emotions--” Hermione started throwing the seed around the yard.

“Good emotions?”

“Yes, very good and crazy overwhelming ones.” Hermione tossed the rest of the feed out to the hungry animals.

Molly flung the contents of her bucket out and then threw her arms back around her second daughter. “I would be surprised if it wasn't overwhelming. Thankfully, you have all of us.”

“That’s right.” They turned arm and arm and walked towards the house. “Teddy and Harry kept me very busy this weekend.”

“Bet those boys were exhausting. Whenever I invite all the grandbabies over, he is always the ring leader and they have so much fun and get into trouble. He is a good boy but too smart and devious for his own good sometimes.”

“I agree, he definitely is following after Draco’s legacy and into Slytherin.”

“Bite your tongue woman.” Molly opened the door and Hermione walked in laughing.

She was engulfed in the familiar smell of the Burrow. It was definitely less noisy and chaotic now that all of the children had moved out. She moved into the kitchen and laughed as she watched her mother dance around the kitchen singing Hells Bells.

“Morning mum,” Hermione yelled over the music.

Jean reached for the radio and turned the volume down. “Morning, dear. Ready for a day filled with dresses?”

“Shopping meh but I am excited to hang out with the ladies. Molly, how did you guys find this dress designer?”

“Draco did.” Molly shook her head, “he has been the most involved groom I have ever met. And I am glad for it because it has given me a chance to get closer to him since this wedding is huge. It is fun seeing them make the decisions together. You can really tell a lot about their relationship by the way they handle things.”

“Crazy arguments?” Hermione asked.

“Not too crazy. For sure there have been arguments. They both are hard headed. But at least they work through them. But I cannot wait until it is over with. It's been a busy time but oh my baby girl is getting married.”

“Oh mum,” Ginny smiled from the doorway, “don't go getting all mushy on me now.”

Molly spun around and pulled her daughter into a bear hug.

“Hermione, shall we hang out outside for a bit before everyone gets here?” Ginny said as she finally got her mother to let her go.

“Yes, let's. Hey mum are you coming with us today? I would love your opinion.” Hermione asked Jean.

“Yep, I have to get a dress for the wedding too.” 

Ginny grabbed Hermione’s hand and they walked out on the porch. The backyard looked so different without the family filing it. She walked down the steps and over to the garden bench and sat down.

“Girl so much has happened in the last two weeks, where do I even begin? I just kind of went into my own bubble and ignored the world. Well except, Harry. He helped me finally answer the question about who my biological dad is. The need to know overwhelmed me. I wanted to say I am sorry for not catching up earlier.”

“I understand, you needed answers. Plus girl, since you are staying we have all the time in the world to hang out. Mum said you found out who your bio dad is?

“It's Remus, Ginny.” The flabbergasted look on her face made Hermione smile. “Yea I know--”

“So straight-laced Remus had a love child and that kid is YOU. But how--”

“Well, Ginny when two people get these feelings--”

Ginny pushed Hermione. “Hush you. Remus was so against dating Tonks back in the day because of his condition. He would not let her close to him until she forced it. How did he have a child that he didn’t know about?”

“More like a friends with benefits child. Allison and Remus were on assignment together for the Order in a very depressing town. They were fighting day in and day out. Trying to find out more about Voldemort's backstory. They--”

Hermione stopped and buried her head in her hands. “All the stuff she wrote was about Remus.”

“What are you talking about?”

“In Allison’s last journals, she wrote very detailed accounts of their ‘fun’ times. How did I not put that together until now?”

Ginny burst out laughing. “Parents are embarrassing, aren't they?”

“From the grave, she is embarrassing me. I hope that Remus does not put that two and two together, he will be mortified that I have read it.”

“It’s like walking in on your parents because your asshole twin brothers trick you into it. Just try to forget it.” Ginny shook her head. “So I take it you are now Teddy’s favorite person. Harry has been surpassed.”

“Ha, I beat him out just a little bit.” Hermione laughed.

“Ginny, Hermione.” Luna walked over to the duo from the trees coming from the direction of her father’s house.

“Good morning, Luna!” Ginny laughed.

“Good morning, friends. I am so glad to see your spirit is happy, Hermione.”

Hermione hugged Luna and the trio started down the path towards the orchard.

“Firstly, I have to say, I totally knew when you came back that you and Harry would happen--” Ginny started.

“Glad someone did. I hoped but never thought it would ever come true. It's even better than I could have ever expected.”

“Yea, I am so glad, I have never seen you and Harry look so at peace,” Luna observed.

Ginny grinned. “So do tell about the first date because oh we need all the details.”

She went into great detail telling the girls about their date, subsequent nights at the manor, Hannah and Nevilles, and the visits to Harwood Manor and Hogwarts.

Ginny stopped. “You are madly in love with my brother, aren't you?”

“Have been for many years, Ginny.”

They walked through the orchard and Ginny skipped around. “So from what all you haven't said, are you now living with Mister Potter?”

Hermione laughed. “I don't really know, Ginny. I have a room here, Grimmauld Place, Potter and Longbottom manors. My mum is planning a room for me at their flat above the shop, but the only place I want to be is in that bed with him.” she sighed.

Luna stopped walking and looked quizzically at Hermione. “What's wrong with that?”

“Everything has happened so quickly-- and in three weeks time, I am saying I want to live with him--”

“And your brain is thinking about it too much,” Ginny said.

“Remember this is no one else’s story, Hermione.” Luna looked into her friend’s eyes, “no one else gets to say what is right for you and him.”

Ginny added, “People may judge you and have a litany of things to say but you are the Brightest Witch of our Age and he is the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice. If anyone is going to give you any shit, you will eviscerate them like you did Skeeter and then I will deal with them. You and he deserve to finally be happy. Fuck what everyone else thinks.”

Hermione nodded. “You had to learn that first hand, didn’t you?”

Ginny wrapped her arm around Hermione’s shoulders and they started back towards the house. “Draco and I got a lot of judgment and ridicule when it got out that we were dating. People wrote these terrible articles about how I was a slut and broke the chosen one’s heart by choosing a death eater.” 

“That is terrible.”

“I will say this, it brought us and the family so much closer. It happened after our first anniversary when he gave me the ring. We mostly lived in the muggle world while we were in college because it was a welcome respite for us. It wasn't until we showed up at Hannah and Neville’s wedding together that all shit hit the fan. Draco had attended two family events when the first article was published.”

“He told the family that he would not stand for the words that were said and would fight them. He went to school for law and was able to use that to get them to stop publishing stories. He came up with a very elegant solution to the issue by looking at the way famous muggles handled these situations.”

“Really?”

“One of the first classes we had was modern Britain history. In that class, we went into detail about the Royal Family and the death of Princess Diana. After her death, Prince Charles made a deal with the media that they could get a glimpse of the prince's lives but it would be on their terms. So we are contracted with the Prophet, the Patel Twins took it over, Quibbler, and Witch Weekly to be allowed one photographer and one journalist to talk to us about major events. They will then share the notes and photos with the three news agencies. He then sued the shit out of anyone else who published articles on us that were lies, defamation of character and once a few of those went through and we won, the other papers left us alone.”

“I get that people are curious and want to know about our lives since we are all war heroes. But, I get to control what they know and when they know it. It is not up to the media to choose what is right for us.”

“Hit them in their pocketbook with legal fees, an elegant way to get them to leave you alone.” Hermione sighed. “I guess Harry and I are going to need to do that too.”

Ginny laughed. “Draco started a business with this with the law firm. A lot of the war heroes don't want all the publicity but get the public interest. So he hired a public relations lawyer, Geof, who is now in charge of these deals. Don't worry Hermione, Harry is already a client because everyone wants a piece of the boy-who-lived. He was tired of the sensational articles publishing trash about him. So talk to him about it and you two can make decisions on how you want to disclose things. But hell even I think it's too damn early to say anything to the public.”

“But we want to give Geof the heads up so he can keep the trolls away.” Hermione smiled.

“Yep.” The trio walked slowly back into the Burrow.

“And here is our bride, maid of honor, and Hermione,” Fleur exclaimed when they walked in and handed each of them a glass of champagne.

Hermione looked around and took in the girls standing in the living room. She knew most of the girls and the ones that she didn’t know, she knew she would by the end of the day.

Hermione’s eyes met Hannah from across the room. She let out a laugh and moved to Hannah’s side. 

“Cuz.” Hermione gave her a hug. “I didn’t know if you would be here.”

“Husband is home with the girls so I can get out of the house for a bit. Plus gotta do another dress fitting since I am no longer a whale.”

“Alright everyone, let’s finish our bubbly and get shopping.” Ginny pumped her fist in the air. “I cannot wait for you all to see my dress and we gotta get Hermione’s and Momma Jean dresses.”

Hannah clapped. “We need to get Hermione one that looks smashing so she can take Harry’s breath away when she walks down the aisle with him.”

“Here, here.” Ginny raised her glass, “and a toast to all my wonderful ladies here. Thanks for being a part of Draco and my crazy day. It’s going to be so much fun with all of you there. So, let’s get going.”

She headed out the door and everyone followed behind. Fleur grabbed the long ribbon portkey from the table and followed Hermione and Hannah out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione sat on the couch in the shop with a glass of bubbly in her hand and Hannah by her side. All of the ladies were seated around a runway waiting for Ginny to come out in her dress.

“Ginny has shown us only part of the dress. She and the designer have been working in secret. Last time we came here we got to see the dress. It was surprisingly simple and understated for Ginny.” Hannah shared with Hermione.

“I imagined her in a princess ball gown or a sexy mermaid or something flashy. She told us that we had to wait until this fitting to see the final version,” Angelina added.

“Keeping it exciting for her bridal party.” Hermione laughed at the impatient looks on everyone’s faces.

“Ladies, are you ready for this?” Ginny yelled from the fitting room.

With a resounding yes she came out of the dressing room and walked down the runway. Ginny looked ethereal in the dress and sheer cape that flowed around her. The dress had a simple white sheath silhouette with a sweetheart neckline that hugged her curves and ended at her ankles. But the piece de resistance of the dress was the sheer white cape that joined at her neck with a fancy W broach and flowed around and behind her.

As she moved down the runway, the light caught the stars that were stitched into the cape. They shone like real stars in the night sky. Hermione noticed that the stars were set in constellations. The bottom of the cape had stars but was less organized. She noticed white flowers along the borders of the cape.

“So what do you think?” Ginny asked.

Everyone started talking all at once. Hermione held her glass up in cheers and grinned at Ginny.

Ginny held up her hands and started shushing the room. Finally, everyone settled down.

“Hermione, you are the only one staying quiet, so do tell.”

Hermione took a sip of her champagne “Why the daffodils?”

“Draco’s mum’s name means daffodil. I wanted to honor her in the dress.”

Hermione nodded. “I love the way you are honoring the Black family constellations with Draco, Ursa Major and Minor, his mum, and yours. I don't know if anyone else sees the stars that make up a W near the middle with the number of stars surrounding it that I assume represent your family too.”

Ginny held out the bottom of the cape to her mum and pointed to what Hermione described. “Mum--”

Molly stood up and wrapped her daughter in a hug. “I am so glad you saved the cape to show us until now.” She sat back down wiping the tears from her face.

“Okay, so I am going to take this off and now I get to direct all of you.” She walked back to the dressing room.

“Miss Granger.” Analiese, the dress designer walked over to Hermione, “Miss Weasely said that you would like to look at different dress styles.”

She motioned for Hermione to follow her to the left side of the store where there were racks of dresses. Hermione set her glass down and followed the elderly woman. She tapped her mother’s shoulder to follow them.

Hermione stopped looking around the room. “Analiese, I am not a big shopper, I would love to have your opinion on what style dress would look best with what the other girls have chosen and would look good on my body type.”

“And her mum wants to help too.” Jean smiled at the designer.

“Come on, Jean. Let's grab some samples and Hermione please change into the shift in the dressing room and come back and stand on the pedestal over there.”

Hermione followed her instructions and quickly changed. 

She came back out and found her mother and the designer chatting about what to dress her in.

“The wedding colors are silver and navy, very classy. The girls are in the navy.” Analiese said as they walked around the racks of dresses.

She and Jean grabbed a handful of cuts and showed them to Hermione on the hangers. The designer used her wand to transfigure the shift she was wearing into the dresses. Hermione thought this was such an ingenious way to quickly try on many different styles and colors.

Hermione stared at herself in the mirror and quickly went through the styles. She had a feeling her mum put some styles she knew that Hermione would hate so she could say no to some.

“Mum, why would you think I want lace?” Hermione shook her head.

“Come on, you know I couldn’t help it. It’s not your thing but I love it so much.”

Analiese transfigured the dress into a knee-length navy chiffon dress. The halter straps tied at her neck and plunged down accentuating her chest. The ruched cummerbund fit snugly around her waist while the A-line skirt flared out to her knees. She moved from side to side and the fabric flowed around her legs. She spun around and the various layers flowed around her. She could imagine dancing the night away in it.

Hermione’s eyes met Analiese’s, who smiled. “And with that look, this must be the dress.” 

Ginny came around the corner and shrieked. “Hermione, you have to get that dress. Have you seen the back or lack thereof. It is classy, sexy, and will be so much fun to dance and spin in. And your man is going to want to unwrap that dress from--”

Ginny stopped when she saw Jean standing in the room.

“I agree with Ginny’s assessment.” Jean nodded.

Hermione tried to keep the blush from traveling any further down from her cheeks. She jumped off the pedestal and spun around. She grabbed Ginny’s hands and danced around the room.

They ended in a hug and Ginny kissed her cheek. “Dance test passed and bride approved.”

“I think it's perfect, Analiese. Thank you so very much.” Hermione smiled at the designer.

“Perfect, dearie. Now, please change out of the dress and leave it in the dressing room. I will use the measurements from that transfigured dress to make your actual one.” 

She turned to Jean. “Now, it's time to find a dress for your beautiful mum here. I have a lace one that will look stellar on you.”

Analiese and her mother went off into the dress racks.

“You better hop up and join me on this runway and strike a pose, you. Don't think we all didn’t see that dance in there,” Hannah exclaimed from the runway when Hermione tried to go back to the dressing room.

Hermione grabbed her glass of champagne from the table and jumped up onto the runway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione kissed Ginny’s cheek. “I have to get going. I have a date with my main man.”

Ginny laughed. “I’m excited for lunch next week with you. Tell Harry hi for us.”

“Harry”, “Kiss that boy”, “Ooo La La”, “Getter done girl” and lots of giggles followed her through the floo. 

She stumbled out of the fireplace. “Stupid floo.” 

“Hey, beautiful, need help?” Harry was leaning against the doorway with a smile on his face.

Hermione grinned at him and shook her head. She swayed her hips as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hey, you.”

“Have fun?” Harry wrapped her arms around her back and pulled her close to him.

“A little too much and oh that dress designer was amazing. I felt so comfortable with her and she has an amazing selection. I think I will go back for some more outfits. Found me a pretty dress that I know that you will love.” 

Harry kissed her neck making her lean closer to him, “I cannot wait to see you. I will be looking pretty dapper myself in my tux.”

“I bet you will, I like it when you dress up.” she sighed, “Those girls are a mess and so much fun to hang out with. I told the girls that we are having a girls’ night in the Man Cave at Grimmauld at least twice a month. I really missed being around them even if they are a little too nosey about all this.”

She ran her hands across his chest to the buttons on his shirt and started undoing them.

“Ah yes, do tell. What did you tell them about this?” He ran his hand down her side and felt her shudder. He rested his hands on her bum and pulled her against him.

“I am completely smitten and want you to take me to our bedroom.”

Harry pushed forward and picked her up. Hermione shrieked.

“I like the sound of that. Our bedroom.”


	23. Chapter 23 - Morning Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) thanks for all of your help with this fanfic. It has been a pleasure working with you!
> 
> Fun date day for our favorite couple. The activity they do on their date is an activity that you can do in London… well not during a pandemic - probably. It looks super fun!! The activity is an interpretation cause I have never done this, but hey that is exactly what us authors do with fanfiction, I get to play in this wonderful world and share with YOU!
> 
> Enjoy!

Chapter 23

Harry was whistling to a tune as he got out of the shower. He threw on a pair of boxers and walked back into the bedroom, drying his hair with his towel.

Hermione had been busy that morning putting the finishing touches on their early morning date before they went to Cubis to get groceries for dinner with Hermione’s parents.

“I set some clothes out for you love,” Hermione said from the bedroom.

Harry walked out of the bathroom and found her standing in front of the dresser looking through a jewelry box that Talila had set out the night before. Hermione was in trainers, jeans, and a green flowy top. He looked at the bed. She had set out similarly themed clothes for him. So they could be doing something active, maybe a museum?

Harry walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her neck and leaned his head on her shoulder. “You smell like lavender.”

“The elves got me some new lotions and perfume to try out. They want to figure out what I like. Apparently, this one is made on the premises by Normand. He has started a business selling it. He is such a sweet elf, all of them are.”

Harry laughed. “Yep, he is doing very well. He was the fourth elf to join the project. I like the smell on you.”

“Me too. So, where did all this come from?” Hermione said as she ran her hands over the many colors, shapes, and sizes of earrings.

She had already looked in the first three drawers. There were necklaces, rings, and bracelets. All of her jewelry had been placed into the box as well. She saw a pair of stud elephant face earrings and smiled knowing that she would wear those today to go with their date.

“Talila went to the Harwood and Potter vaults and got jewelry for you. I hope it is okay,” Harry said. “Most of the fancy stuff is in the closet and in the vaults. She wanted to get your opinion on the rest. This is everyday jewelry if you wanted to wear some. I got the red earrings right there,” he pointed to the very Gryffindor looking pair of earrings with a ruby stone and yellow gold backing.

“I love it, Harry, and those earrings are beautiful.”

She leaned against him. “Talila and I talked this morning and I have asked her to bring over my and Frankie’s stuff from Grimmauld Place. I asked her to leave some clothes and toiletries there like you do. I don't know if it was assumed but I wanted to make sure you know that I want to make Potter manor my home with you.”

Harry spun her around in his arms and soundly kissed her. 

He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “I did not want to assume anything or pressure you in any way. As much as I want this to be our home, wherever you are is home.”

“Good, glad we agree, mister. Talila wanted to expand the closet but was going to wait until we talked. I told her to go crazy with my wardrobe and have fun shopping for all types of Wizarding clothes and she is going to ask my mum for help with muggle clothes because there is no way that I am giving up jeans or lounge clothes.”

“I love you in those jeans that make your bum look so perfect.” He grabbed her butt with a grin.

She slapped his shoulder. “It's time for you to get dressed. I have a fun morning planned for us outside of the walls of this room.”

Harry pulled her into a deep kiss before pulling away and going to his pile of clothes on the bed. He whipped his towel off his hips and Hermione admired his body as he got dressed. He grinned at her and wiggled his eyebrows. 

Hermione turned back to the jewelry and grabbed the elephant earrings and put them on.

“Can you grab me a watch? They are in the top drawer?” Harry asked.

She opened the drawer and was surprised at how many he owned. It looked like he had a watch in every color.

“That's a lot of watches, dear.” 

“Winky found most of them in the vaults. Most were worn by many great grandfathers. Sirius has taken joy in expanding my collection into the latest and greatest muggle watches too. Most charge with solar power. So, no issues with magic.”

He walked over and pointed at the different watches. “This is my favorite.” He pointed to the grey banded watch with a square clock face. It was simpler than the others. It didn't have compasses or temperature readings. “It was my grandfathers.”

She grabbed that watch and handed it to him to put on.

“Everything ready for our date, Love?”

Hermione nodded and grabbed his hand. “I am going to apparate us, so hold on.”

Harry wrapped his arms around her and they left Potter Manor.

They appeared in the alleyway behind a row of businesses. Harry thought he recognized the area, it must have been near Grimmauld Place. She grabbed his hand and they walked around the buildings.

“We are having a quickish breakfast since it is 8:30. We have to be at our next stop at 9:15. So here we are at The Coffee Jar and we will get some fancy coffee and breakfast sandwiches.”

“Why don't you go in and order our breakfast and I will grab the table out front.”

Hermione grinned. “That sounds perfect.” She kissed his cheek and walked inside the shop.

Harry sat down at the only table outside of the small shop and watched the people walking by. He could tell the difference between those that were going to work and those on holiday. He wondered where they were going after their short breakfast. There were a lot of museums around this area including the wax museum and the British Museum. But with apparition, they could go anywhere in that time.

Hermione came out with a number and sat across from him. “I want to bottle the smell in that place.”

“We can buy coffee candles, you know.”

“Candles are good but nothing can capture the smell of making coffee. There is something about coffee shops that makes me happy.”

Harry shook his head. “You are crazy.”

The look of adoration on Harry’s face gave Hermione butterflies in her stomach. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand. She mouthed ‘I love you’ to him.

A worker came out of the coffee shop with a tray and set two cups and plates on their table. “Enjoy breakfast, you two.”

“Thank you. I got us both mochas.” Hermione grabbed the cup closest to her and took a sip. 

She pointed to the sandwich closest to him. “That one is chorizo and the other is some fancy ham.”

Harry switched half of the chorizo with half of the ham. “Smells good. Any hints of what we are doing? There is so much around this area that I cannot figure it out.”

Hermione grinned at him and shook her head. “That’s the point, goof. I think it is something you haven't done before.”

“Well, that is not helpful. Guess it will stay a mystery for a while longer.” He grinned at her. “So, given our conversation earlier, is there anything in the manor you want to change? I have done a lot of decorating but nothing is set in stone. It is your home too and I want it to feel that way.”

Hermione sat back and drank her coffee, pondering what he had asked.

“I want to change my bedroom into an office. You made it such a beautiful room and I can imagine a desk in there and me spending a lot of time in that room. As far as the rest of the manor, I will speak up when I see something I’d love to change.”

Harry grinned at her. “There is this huge desk in the attic that I think will be perfect for your office. It’s an ornately carved ebony wood desk that I first saw in pictures of my granddad, Fleamont.”

“That picture in the hallway near Teddy’s room?”

Harry nodded and pointed to the half-eaten sandwich, “this is marvelous. He had an office near the library. We could make your office there if you would prefer.”

Hermione shook her head. “I want to use my room. It's such a pretty space and when I walked in there, I could see myself reading a book by the fireplace. I can see myself doing the Codex’s accounting books there. I think that desk would be the perfect statement piece for me to use to turn it into my dream office.”

Harry saw that wistful expression on her face when she mentioned her bookshop. Harry felt sad and a little guilty that she had to give up running the Codex to stay in England.

Hermione set her coffee down. “I wanted to talk to you about something else. I am happy to be staying and setting down roots in England. I also need to figure out my job situation. I am not one to enjoy a life of leisure all the time. Sirius had an idea that I wanted to talk to you about.”

Harry nodded for her to continue. He grabbed his coffee.

“He mentioned that Mauve and Pops may welcome some help with Flourish and Blotts--”

Harry’s eyes grew wide and he nodded his head, “that is the best idea, Hermione. Mauve sent me an owl inviting us to come by the shop this week while I am off to properly meet you as my Hermione. I am one-hundred percent sure they would welcome your help with open arms.”

Hermione giggled at his excitement. “You sure?”

“Yes, Love, I am. Mauve has been dropping hints about wanting to take a step back. I know that she has been considering hiring someone to help with the day to day running of the shop. The two of them want to travel around Europe, become a Woman of Leisure, and visit their daughter more. She lives in the States and is pregnant so I know they want to be active grandparents for little Ellie, whenever she decides to make an appearance. But she has been hemming and hawing over the decision because she is picky about who she lets run that place and you are perfect for the job.”

Her smile warmed his heart. “You think so? Because I love that bookshop as much as I love my Codex and to get to work in it… it would be this girl's dream come true.”

Harry smiled. “I will send her a letter later and we can talk to them about it over lunch tomorrow.”

“I love that idea.” Her eyes brightened.

“I am getting another chorizo sandwich because that was good. Do you want anything else?” Harry stood up.

“I would love something sweet and a flat white please?”

“A sweet for my sweet.” He cupped her face and kissed her and walked back into the shop.

That left a goofy grin on her face as she finished the other half of her sandwich. She looked at the clock across the street and read 8:45 and her mind went to their next activity. Thankfully, the zoo was only a ten-minute walk away from the coffee shop.

“Okay, that smell inside is pretty great.” Harry sat at the table. ”Breakfast part two is on its way.”

“And coffee.”

Harry laughed and nodded, “of course.”

They finished their breakfast quickly after it arrived and continued to talk about her office plans.

Hermione stood up around nine. “Ready to walk?” 

Hermione grabbed his hand and together they walked from the coffee shop to the ZSL London Zoo.

Before they walked up to the ticket counter, Harry grabbed her hand. “Love, the zoo is not open until at least ten or eleven in the morning.”

Hermione shook her head, “Love, follow me.”

They walked over to the entrance on the left where an employee was standing there with a clipboard.

“Welcome to the Zoo, are you here for the behind the scenes tour?”

Hermione smiled. “Yes sir, under Hermione Granger.”

“Oh yes, two, please go inside and the keeper will meet you. You are our only two for the experience this morning. I know you will have a blast.”

“Thank you.” Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand and they walked into the zoo. “We are going behind the scenes with the giraffes.”

That smile on his face and she knew that she had picked the perfect date. “How did you know how much I love giraffes?”

“I remember you wrote about the trips you and Teddy took here. And then I found this experience on their website--”

Harry pulled her into his arms and spun her around. “You are perfect.”

“Good morning.” A keeper came walking over to the couple. “How are we doing this morning?” she asked, clapping her hands together.

Harry could not keep the excitement out of his voice. “I am wonderful, my girlfriend here just surprised me with all this. I am so excited. I love your giraffes. I see them every time my nephew and I come here. I have done the interactive feedings and that was amazing.”

The keeper pumped her fist in the air. “I love all this excitement so early in the morning. I know we are going to have a fun time. My name is Bella.”

“I am Harry and this is Hermione.” She shook both of their hands.

She motioned for them to follow her down the pathway towards the giraffe area. “This morning you are going to get to experience what it is like to be a giraffe zookeeper. This is why you are here early this morning, not as early as me but much earlier than the regular guests.

Harry practically skipped down the walkway as they headed to the giraffe area of the zoo.

Bella continued, “alright Harry and Hermione, our first stop is going to be to introduce you to our ladies, Maggie and Molly. Harry here has met them, but Hermione, have you?”

“No, this is my first time here in many years. I lived in England but have been living in Australia for the last few years.”

Bella stopped and grinned at Hermione. “I interned at the Australia Zoo and that savannah is absolutely amazing. Our zoo is just a wee bit smaller. But while we may be tiny we are mighty. Also, our giraffe’s are the sweetest.” 

She opened an employee entrance and they followed behind her. They walked into an employee break room with a table, benches, and shelves along the wall. They took a seat and Bella explained all of the safety procedures for their morning.

“Alright, love birds,” Bella handed them each a folded pile of clothes, “you two put on these keeper outfits and your clothes in the baskets over there.” she pointed to the shelves. “Our girls may get you messy or you may make a mess when you are mucking their dens. Come out this door when you have changed,” she said before she walked out of the room.

“This is absolutely fantastic, Hermione. Mucking stalls, feeding giraffes, this is my dream come true,” Harry exclaimed as they changed.

“You dream of cleaning up poop?”

“If it's giraffe poop, hell yea,” Harry said as they folded their clothes and put them into baskets on the shelf. 

“I am so glad you are so happy. Come on, love, let's do this.” Hermione walked towards the door.

The couple was greeted by the face of a giraffe peeking over the wall.

“Welcome to the back area of the Giraffe House. You are now in the oldest zoo building in the world that is still used for its original purpose, as the habitat for our girls.” Bella handed a carrot to the insistent giraffe that was by her head. “This is Maggie and a very jealous Molly over there will need a carrot too. Harry, will you oblige?”

Harry moved quickly to the bucket of vegetables and grabbed a carrot and fed it to the second giraffe that peeked its head over.

Hermione grabbed the bucket of vegetables and walked over to Bella. “She is beautiful.”

“And she knows it.”

At that, their morning zoomed to full speed. They spent twenty minutes feeding the giraffes their morning breakfast. Then Bella took them back to the den. Workers were already cleaning up from the night. Harry looked a bit sad not getting to muck the stalls. One of the workers handed him a rake and welcomed his help. Bella shared facts about the giraffes while she and Hermione put feed into the dishes around the den for the girls that evening.

The keeper that had been mucking the stall clapped Harry on the shoulder. “You are only the second person on the behind the scenes tour who wanted to help scoop poop. B, please get this man one of the poop notebooks to take home.”

Bella laughed and quickly explained. “There is a company that uses animal poop to make paper. They make notebooks and stationery out of it. We have some special ones that are specifically made from our animal’s waste that we only give to special guests.”

Harry washed his hands and joined them again. He wistfully looked back at the enclosure as they left.

Bella grinned at him. “You are a hopeless romantic but Harry I guarantee the giraffes are going to love you, even more when you come back with treats and snacks you are going to get to make for them.”

Hermione laughed at the grin that returned on his face. He smiled at her with the same expression. “I love you even more than Molly and Maggie.”

“He cleaned up their poop too, so that is a true declaration of Love.” Bella laughed.

The spent the next hour being given a behind the scenes tour of the main areas of the zoo. They picked herbs and flowers in the garden to create a treat bundle for the girls. They ended their time away from the giraffes in the nutrition and food prep room of the zoo. They made enrichment balls of treats for the giraffes and the other animals in the enclosure including the okapis and African wild dogs.

“Okay, you two, let's take these treats back to our girls and you will get to spend more time with them.”

Bella grabbed a basket from the corner and they got back in the golf cart. Harry jumped on the back and held the bucket with the enrichment treats. They drove back to the enclosure and made their way to the high-level viewing platform.

Bella motioned for them to follow her around the platform. “We are over here in the keeper area because we gotta treat these girls and the other animals.”

Harry and Hermione fed the giraffe’s the small bites that they created. Bella threw the five of the enrichment balls around the enclosure. Harry watched Maggie’s eyes follow the ball but she stayed focused on him since he had food in his hand. 

“Smart girl, save that for later.” Harry laughed as the giraffe’s tongue wrapped around his hand.

“She is smart. They will find them later. The other five we made, I will have Josh put on vertical areas in the enclosure later.”

Once they finished, they sat down at the table and Bella pulled out hand sanitizer, a bottle of wine, and cheese and crackers.

“You two have been an absolute gem. I hope that you have enjoyed your morning as a zookeeper and you have a great rest of the day. In the bag are some goodies for you to keep. Please enjoy your snack on the veranda. Let me know when you are ready and I will take you downstairs for one last meet with the girls and you can get changed. But please stay out here as long as you like. Just press the buzzer over there and I will come up and take you out.”

“Thank you so much, Bella,” Harry said as she left them watching the animals in the enclosure.”

Hermione poured the wine. “So, I take it you had a terrible time?”

“Of course, the absolute worst. I think that this morning was one of the best of my life.”

Hermione laughed. “I agree, Harry. We definitely have to come back and do the other behind the scenes tours.”

Harry nodded. “That is right and we are going to donate so much money to the zoo. We are going to make sure that they get that new hospital. Potter Foundation has a whole arm that is for helping animals and this place is right around the corner from our offices and is in our city. And this--” he pointed to Maggie who was staring at him from across the enclosure.

Hermione stopped and the look of love on her face made Harry’s heart soar. “You are perfect, Harry Potter, just perfect.”

“Perfect for you dear, just you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Next chap is the one you have been waiting for………… dinner with the parents all together!!!!! 

I have some ideas of one shots from my muse and reviewers (finding Allison’s painting in the vault, etc) to do after the whole of the fic is up… if there is anything you want to see… inspire my muse and leave it in a comment!!!!!!


	24. Chapter 24 - Dinner with the Whole Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Biggest thanks for my alpha and beta the wonderful Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3)!!!!!!! Remus and Edward meet at family dinner :) and of course cute Teddy moments!!!!
> 
> Overwhelming response from readers so the first one shot will be Hermione finding Alison's portrait and other fun things :)!!! I still need to write it… help to inspire my muse by leaving those reviews!
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter!!

Chapter 24

“Now, Edward, I need you to be nice when we go to the manor today.” Jean stood in front of her husband fixing his tie.

“Jean, I am a nice person--”

“You can be short with people when it comes to our daughter and Husband, you have been in a mood since she told us about Remus.”

Edward sighed and sat back on the bed. He pulled Jean close to him and hugged her. Jean ran her fingers over his head knowing that this had been coming.

“I am struggling--” Edward sighed. “I don't want to share my daughter.”

“Love--”

Edward looked at Jean’s eyes. “I am her father, we raised her. But he is her blood and has been a part of her life and he is magical and she is a piece of him--”

“And she is a piece of you, Edward Granger. Hermione is a piece of me and Allison and Molly too. Edward, she is an amalgamation of everyone that has touched her life.”

“But blood--”

“Is blood and you should not get angry because her biological father, who did not know about the amazing girl we raised, wants to be a part of her life. Edward, you are her father and you will always be that--”

He dropped his head. “I can't lose her again, Jean--”

“Then don't be an asshole about all of this. Edward, I love you but she didn’t get all her stubbornness from only me. She got it from you too. Talk to Hermione and Remus, don't stay silent and do not be mean.”

“And on the other side of this damn coin, I feel bad for him too--” Edward let out a strained laugh, and tears fell from his eyes. “He never got to be her dad and in my not so humble opinion, she is the most amazing girl that any dad would love. Allison took that choice from him and while I do not want to share my daughter with anyone--” 

Edward leaned into the comfort of his wife’s embrace and whispered, “He deserves the chance.”

Jean nodded and he added, “I am feeling all over the place, Love.”

“This isn’t an easy situation, Ed. We all knew there was a possibility that he would be alive. But we never prepared for it to be someone that she knows. Everyone says that Remus is a good man and she is his blood.” She looked into her husband's eyes, “And she is our magic, Ed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remus paced around the library. He could not sit down. He had been pacing for the last thirty minutes while Tonks got ready.

“Daddy.” Teddy peeked his head into the library.

“Hey kiddo, did you need something?”

Teddy shook his head. “Mummy told me to find you. She is still getting dressed and I was annoying her.” 

Teddy slipped into the library and skipped his way over to Remus.

“Daddy, I am so excited and can't wait to leave.” and proceeded to dance in a circle with his arms flailing about. He stopped and gave Remus a very serious expression, “Daddy, why are you pacing?”

Remus scooped his son in his arms and snuggled him, kissing the little boy. He walked out of the library and into the family room. Remus exaggeratedly fell on to the couch and tossed Teddy in the air. He used wandless arresto momentum to control the fall. Teddy giggled as he slowly made his way into his father’s lap. Teddy wrapped his arms around Remus' neck and melted into his embrace.

“That’s fun,” Teddy whispered.

“I know that is why I do it. You always make me smile, son. I am ready to go, too little man. I was pacing because I am a bit nervous.”

Teddy sat up and looked at him questioningly. He traced the outline of Remus’s shaved face, looked at his ears, felt his forehead, and sat back analyzing the situation.

“I know what the problem is, Daddy.”

“Oh yea what is the diagnosis, Doctor Ted?”

“You have a case of the jitterbugs.”

Remus smiled at Teddy, “I think you are right, son.”

“But Daddy, Mimsey, and Poppa are going to love you. Because you love me and Nee Nee this much.” He held his little arms out as far as they would go.

“That is right, son. I love you to infinity--”

“AND BEYOND,” Teddy yelled. 

He then looked seriously at Remus, “The jitterbugs will go away with time, as mummy says. You will be fine, so says Dr. Teddy.” he winked at Remus and changed subjects quickly, “Daddy, can I bring my dragons and show them?”

“Only one little man,” Tonks said from the stairs.

“Mummy, you are dressed finally.” Teddy quickly got up from the couch and ran to his room.

“Don't forget the card you made for them. You left it in the library,” Remus yelled up the stairs.

“It's going to take him twenty minutes to choose which dragon to bring.” Tonks laughed and joined Remus on the couch, “I see our son stopped you from pacing a path into the carpet.”

He sighed and wrapped his arm around Tonks pulling her to his side. He rested his head against hers as he tried to find the words. “I have been diagnosed with jitterbugs by Doctor T.”

“Well of course you are Love, you are meeting your daughter's parents. If you were not nervous, I would think something was wrong.”

“Tonks, I need this to go well. I don't want Edward to think I want to steal her away but I can't just pretend she isn't--”

“A walking breathing piece of your heart, Moony.” Tonks patted his leg. “It's how we both feel about our son.”

“I am so worried and am scared.”

Tonks sighed. “Love, you are a good man. I don't know why you don't believe in yourself. Edward is going to meet the loving, caring, kind-hearted man that you are.” She poked his chest in emphasis with each word. “And Remus I need you to wrap your mind around this thought, you are not subtracting anything from Edward and Hermione’s relationship. You are building one from here with her and by proxy her parents. You need to remember that you deserve to have this as much as Edward does.”

Remus’ eyes went wide at her revelation. She hit the nail on the head with what he was worried about and how he felt. He slowly nodded his head in understanding and smiled at his wife. He pulled her into his lap and buried his face in her neck breathing in her scent.

“I love you. Thanks for dealing with my broody self.”

Tonks laughed, “Remus, I love Broody Moony as much as I love you--”

“Mummy are you sure I can't take two? Noberta and Harmony go together as a pair and I really think Mimsey will like the green and red dragons.” 

He stood on the landing with two dragons in his hand.

“No, sir. Remember what happened when you took two last time? You left one there and were in tears about it.”

Teddy looked down at the dragons, the indecision on his face. 

“Auntie Hermione said that Mimsey’s favorite color is purple, so why don't you grab Alanza?” 

Teddy’s smile grew on his face, “Yes mummy you are so right and she is the prettiest one I have.” 

He ran back upstairs.

“And don't forget your card, child.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione decided to have dinner in the library since it was her favorite room in the house. She had already moved the couches and chairs around.

“The elves will bring everything else in. I have been instructed to stay out of the kitchen.” Harry walked in with a tray of appetizers.

Hermione laughed and grabbed a toasty from the tray he was carrying and popped it in her mouth. Her mouth exploded in the briny olives and strong cheddar cheese. She grinned at him, “That is amazing. Our elves know how to throw a good party.”

“That they do dear, that they do.” Harry set the tray down in front of the table. 

Hermione grabbed a stack of books from the table and set them on a blanket that she had laid out in front of the fireplace.

“I figure Teddy will get bored of all the adult talk so I found some new dragon books for him to read. I hope it goes well tonight.”

Harry sat down on the couch and waved her over. “Love, come here and let's talk.”

She plopped down on the couch and leaned into his side. 

She sighed. “I am worried about my dad. I don't think he was happy that I found out about Remus.”

“Can you blame him?” Harry asked blatantly.

She was about to respond sarcastically but stopped.

Harry continued, “I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone. I cannot even imagine how your dad feels. You are his daughter but now there is this other man in your life.”

“Harry, Remus isn’t trying to take my dad’s role--”

“But come on Hermione, be honest with yourself. You know Remus is not just another person in your life and you won't treat him like that. He is your dad and while he may not have raised you, he is connected to you. And one of the things that I love the most about you is how fiercely you love the people in your life.”

She didn't know how to respond. Harry grabbed her hand and rubbed his finger over her palm.

“Love, you are battling your nature and you don't even realize it. While you say you are worried about your dad’s response, I am more worried about yours. Hermione, don't set boundaries on this relationship with Remus. Don't say he isn’t going to try to be a ‘dad’ to you because you don't know that. You two get to figure out together and build a bond with each other. You get a chance that most people would kill for.”

Hermione’s face fell and tears welled in her eyes. 

Harry put his finger under her chin and stared into those brown eyes “Hermione, I hope your dad knows that Remus deserves to have that chance too. Remus didn’t get a choice when Allison hid you away. And while we understand it was the best thing, Remus gets to have that choice now and I know that he wants to be a dad to you. I know deep down that you want that too. It will look different than your and Edward’s relationship but he is your dad.”

Tears fell from Hermione’s eyes as she took in all he said. She had to admit that he was right. Harry held his arms out and she snuggled into his embrace letting the feelings wash over her. Harry ran his fingers through her hair and rubbed her back.

When the tears subsided, Harry grabbed a tissue and carefully wiped the mascara from the edges of her eyes.

“I am doing it again. Where I worry about others’ feelings and push mine aside.” She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “I don't want my dad to feel like I don't want him and I want Remus to know that I do.”

“Love there is nothing you need to do differently. Just love them all and they will love you.”

Talila popped into the library. “Jean and Edward are here, Mistress. Do you want me to bring them to the library?”

“We will get them. Thanks, Talila.” Hermione jumped up from the couch.

Harry stood up and grabbed Hermione’s hand. They made their way out of the library. 

Hermione was glad that Potter manor was not some elaborate maze built to confuse and turn everyone around. The bottom floors held most of the public rooms, from the formal living room to the family room to the dining room and kitchen. The upstairs held everyone’s bedrooms, the movie room, and a bunch of other empty rooms.

She loved that there was still so much of the house left to put their personal touches on. While she never imagined herself living in an aristocratic manor but Potter manor did not feel like Harwood manor had. Potter manor felt like a huge extended family home where everyone came together. She was excited to show her mum and dad around her home.

She stopped at the top of the stairs and she kissed his cheek, “I love you, Harry. And I am glad I have you to remind me when I am being stubborn or not thinking.”

“I love you Hermione and that is my job. I am your person.” Harry pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tight.

They walked down the stairs and were greeted by a very excited Jean looking all around the ornately decorated living room. 

Edward was looking at Harry with a mixed expression. Hermione ran down the stairs and into his arms. Edward picked her up and spun her around, Hermione laughing. 

Harry stopped and watched the interaction. He was hit with a wave of emotion at the look of pure love that Edward had when he looked down at his daughter. He could imagine a curly-headed little girl running into his arms and he looking at her with that same look of love and protectiveness that Edward was looking at Hermione with. 

Harry was jolted out of his thoughts when Jean wrapped him in a hug he knew well. Jean’s hugs felt like she could take all the problems of the world away for just that moment. How one could convey all that emotion in a hug, Harry would never know. But he felt it every time Hermione hugged him.

“Hi, Harry.” Jean smiled as he relaxed into her embrace and she squeezed a little tighter.

“Hey Jean, welcome to Potter Manor.”

They walked over to Hermione and Edward. Jean grinned when Edward kissed both of Hermione’s cheeks.

“Daughter.” Jean hugged Hermione and whispered in her ear, “this house is amazing.”

“I love it so much, mum. I can’t wait to show you around and oh the library. It is my happy place. That is where we are having dinner.”

“You sure it's not the master bedroom with your green-eyed man.”

“Mum,” she exclaimed, hoping her dad had not heard. While yes she was an adult, her dad did not need to know these things.

“Thanks for having us over and hosting, Harry,” Edward said and reached his hand out.

Harry nodded and shook his hand. “I love hosting and having people over here. It makes me happy when the manor is filled with all my family and friends. Though, it is always a fight between me and Molly about who will host family dinner.”

“You are braver than I to fight with the stubborn Molly Weasley. She is a spitfire.”

“It’s definitely worth the fight. And really I think now she is just putting up a token fight to keep up appearances. Molly deserves to have others take care of her. She took such good care of all of us now it's our turn.”

Edward genuinely smiled at the man standing in front of him. “That she does, Harry. We gotta take care of these lovely ladies in our lives.”

Jean spun around. “Knowing that we can take care of ourselves too, thank you very much, husband."

Edward rolled his eyes and turned to Jean, “Of course you can but it doesn't mean you should have to all the time.”

Harry coughed Hermione’s name under his breath. She poked Harry’s side with a huge grin on her face.

“So I cannot wait one second longer.” She turned to Harry, “Son, you must take me to the library right now,” Jean exclaimed.

Harry held his arm out to Jean in true gentleman fashion. She giggled and took it and Harry led her up the stairs.

Edward put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders and followed them. Harry was acting like a tour guide explaining what each of the rooms were as they passed them.

“I do like him,” Edward whispered.

“Me too, daddy.”

Harry stopped in front of the library and Hermione walked ahead. “So mum and dad, this is my library.”

She opened the doors and the look on their faces was priceless. Hermione’s parents were just as big of biblophiles as their daughter. Potter manor’s library, aka Hermione’s Library, was truly a magnificent place. The couple led her parents into the massive library. Hermione gave them a quick tour of the library. They ended back at the front of the library where there were couches and chairs set around the table holding the appetizers.

“Okay, I understand why this is your favorite place in the house and not that master bedroom,” Jean said offhandedly.

Edward looked from the mortified look on his daughters face to the blush on Harry’s. Before he could say anything the library doors opened up again.

Teddy came running into the room and launched himself into Hermione’s arms yelling, “Nee Nee. I missed you so much.”

“Hey, little bear.” She held him tight. 

She hoped the feeling of hugging her brother would never get old. She was also grateful for the distraction from her mum’s comment.

He whispered in her ear feeling a bit bashful, “Is that my Poppa and Mimsey, Nee Nee?”

Hermione nodded. “Can you go OG so my mummy can see how much we look like brother and sister?” 

Teddy grinned and nodded. Teddy had mastered his metamorphmagus ability and spent most of his time in some form of transformed look. He usually got so excited that he mirrored whoever he was with. But his OG form was his birth form and he had been in that form a lot more since he realized how much he looked like her. Hermione spun around and faced her mother with her brother in her arms.

Jean let out an excited gasp at the small boy in her daughter's arms. Teddy’s hair changed back to his normal hair color and texture and she could instantly see the family resemblance. His little face, button nose, and those cheeks looked exactly like Hermione had at his age. His hair was more tamed but she could tell that if they let it get long, it would be a mess like her daughters. The poor girl had bad hair genetics from both sides.

“Hi, Teddy. You look so much like my Hermione did when she was little.” Tears welled in her eyes at the sight in front of her. She had always wanted to have a second child.

“Hi, Mimsey,” Teddy said as Hermione set him down and pushed him towards her mum.

They met in the middle and tears flowed down Jean’s cheeks as Teddy gave her the biggest hug as promised. 

“This is insane, Jean, he looks so much like her,” Edward said as he joined his wife.

“Hey Teddy, I am your Poppa.”

Teddy grinned at him. “Hi and Poppa, do you know why Mimsey is crying?” He wiped the tears from her cheeks which made her only cry harder, “I don't want her to be sad.”

Tonks spoke up, “Remember Teds some tears are happy ones and I think those are happy tears because your Mimsey is so excited to meet you.”

Teddy giggled. “Oh Mimsey, I am so happy to meet you too.”

Jean could not find the words to say to this little boy in her arms. That giggle and smile stole her heart, just as Hermione had.

Teddy whispered in her ear, “Mimsey, can I give Poppa a hug too? Then I promise I will be by your side all night.”

Jean grinned. “Deal.” She handed Teddy over to Edward. 

While Edward was getting snuggled by Teddy, Hermione made her way around the couches towards the couple standing by the door.

“Tonks,” Hermione exclaimed and hugged her. "I don't think my mum is going to let him go."

"She is more than welcome to snuggle my bear anytime." Tonks kissed Hermione's cheek.

She turned to Remus and herself into his outstretched arms. She finally felt like she could hug him with no reservations and no holding back. Hermione relaxed into his embrace and smiled at him, “Hey.”

“Hey, you.” Remus kissed her forehead. He was so happy to have her in his arms. His wolf was feeling less anxious. He could feel a change in her energy but couldn't place what it was.

He looked up and his eyes met Edwards for the first time. Hermione was wrapped in his arms and Teddy was wrapped in Edwards’s arms. Edward nodded at the man and smiled. Remus did the same. More passed between the men in those nods.

“Hi, Remus and Tonks.” Jean wrapped her arm around Edward’s shoulder to be close to Teddy. 

Teddy leaned into her with a huge smile on his face.

No one knew what to say. Harry cleared his throat, “Dear do you want me to make drinks?”

Hermione grinned. “Yes, please, love.” 

Remus reluctantly let go of her as she continued, “Everyone please have a seat, and let's eat some snacks. The elves outdid themselves with the meal. The cheese toast is magical.” She pointed to the table and couches.

Tonks had to hold back a laugh at what that terms of endearment Harry and Hermione shared did to both men’s faces. She grabbed Remus’ hand and squeezed it, getting his attention. 

Edward switched Teddy to his other hip and moved to the couch across from Remus and Tonks. Jean joined him.

Harry made his way to the bar cart. “Teddy, do you want soda or juice?”

“Can you make me the bubbly juice so I have a fancy drink too?”

“I will serve it in a fancy glass and everything, little man.”

Teddy climbed across Edward to Jean’s lap and grabbed Edward’s hand with a grin. "Harry is the bestest Mimsey."

“Jean, Edward, I don't know what your typical drinks are. We pretty much have anything you could want,” Harry said as he handed Teddy and Tonks their drinks. 

“I would love some red wine please and Ed likes whiskey with ice.” Jean ruffled Teddy’s hair and he giggled and sipped his drink.

Hermione took a seat in the chair between the couches closest to Remus and Edward. “I want the same thing. Oh Harry, can you pour us that Japanese whiskey that Talila found?”

“Was already planning on it.”

Hermione turned to Remus and Edward, “It's a sake whiskey and is amazing. It is such a smooth and perfect sipping drink.”

Harry handed Hermione her high-ball glass first and then \Edward and Remus theirs. 

“Elves are getting you guys prepared for Tokyo, aren't they?" Remus asked. "Beth and Sirius came over for dinner on Monday and she was bubbling with excitement that you two wanted to go.”

“Yes and I cannot wait for us to set some dates in stone. Meanwhile, I have a book on Japanese cooking and the elves are outdoing themselves making food for us. Winky made us the most amazing yuzu macarons. I asked her to make you guys some to take home.” 

Hermione turned to Edward. “Harry has the travel bug as much as you and me. We bought a fancy map like you and mum had in the house growing up. We are going to put it up in the family room. We talked about all the places we want to go and marked them. It's so exciting and we decided that Tokyo is first.”

Edward laughed. “Glad he wants to travel as much as you, dear. I will make you two your own set of traveled pins to put on your map like your mum and I have. Travel is really good for the soul. Your mum and I decided that our next trip will be Venice. We are going next month since we have lots of time while the Shoppe is being remodeled.” Edward took a sip of the drink and grinned. “That is delicious. Hats off to Talila for finding this. You best bring me back matcha daughter. I won't share it with your mum since she hates it of course.”

Jean slapped Edwards’s shoulder, “Hey I like matcha now, mister.”

“I heard you wouldn’t try that quote and quote nasty grass powder until your daughter tricked you into eating a dessert with it.” Harry sat down near Jean with his glass of wine.

“Hush you. I was a stodgy English woman.”

Teddy looked at her questioningly, “What’s stodgy?”

“I didn’t want to try new things when it came to my tea. I always liked simple black tea. But alas, I have tried a lot of new teas and found many I like. While I like matcha in desserts, as a tea, it's not my cuppa. But you should always try new things, little man.”

“I know what you mean, Mimsey. I wouldn’t eat mushrooms for the longest time. But daddy made these mushroom burgers and I realized I like them so much. Well when Daddy makes them.”

Hermione laughed. “Yes, Teddy. That's why dad makes you take one bite of everything. Because your tastes will change. I didn’t like bell peppers when I was a kid and now I can't get enough of them.”

Edward watched Remus closely and saw how shocked he was when Hermione called him dad. His heart went out to the man. He knew how it felt every time she called him dad. Remus was staring at Hermione in awe

“I love bell peppers. Mummy thought I was crazy last week when I just ate a red one like an apple. It was so yummy.” He turned to Tonks and politely asked, “Mummy can I show Mimsey my dragon?”

Tonks set the mini dragon down on the table and enlarged it. The iridescent purple dragon blew fire from its mouth. Hermione waved her hand at the figure and it flew around the room.

“Nee Nee, yea. Mimsey I brought him because mummy said that purple was your favorite color.”

Jean whispered in Teddy’s ear. “I love it, Teddy. Nee Nee set some books over by the fireplace, want to go read them?” Jean asked.

Teddy looked at his mother with a very serious expression on his face. “Mummy, she is amazing.”

He jumped up from the couch and grabbed Jean’s hand. They walked to the fireplace and Tonks and Harry joined them, wanting to give the trio a chance to talk.

Edward sat forward and set his drink down on the table. Remus followed suit, while Hermione sat forward in her chair, sipping on her drink.

“I am glad to meet you, Remus.” He held his hand over the table and shook Remus’ hand. "To be honest, I have been nervous all day about tonight.”

“Me too, Edward, me too.”

“And that boy of yours is so sweet and he looks so much like Hermione as a kid. It was kind of jarring to see him in my wife’s arms. It took me back, with those curls, cheeks, and that nose, that is our Hermione. Now, he is more gregarious than she was but that smile and giggle is Hermione to a tee.”

Remus smiled.

Edward’s tone took a much more serious note. “I can't even begin to tell you how sorry I am that Allison took the opportunity away from you to see Hermione grow up.”

He paused and took a sip of his drink and set it back down. He rested his hand on Hermione’s leg.

“But selfishly I am glad because it gave me the chance to raise her.” Remus nodded. “She is the best thing that has ever happened to me and her mum. We tried for so many years and when that foster care worker put her in my arms for the first time, I fell completely madly in love with her. I never knew you could feel all in one instant the fierce protectiveness and love that I felt when I looked into her eyes. And then I have this second memory of her being born and that same feeling when I held her in my arms after she was born.”

“I know how you feel, Edward. When Teddy was born, it was like everything fit in place. I love him with all my heart.” He looked at Hermione with so much emotion in his voice, “and Hermione I want you to know that I love you so much.”

Hermione nodded not trusting herself to speak.

“Now, I didn’t get to have those early moments that I had with Teddy but I did get to watch you grow up. I got to see you save my best friend from being kissed by a dementor. I got to watch you one up everyone else figuring out about my wolfie problem. I got to see you and my nephew save the world from terror and be there to help you. I got to see you grow and now I get to be a part of your life as you make a life for yourself in England."

Edward grasped Hermione's hand. “You got to be her magical protector and for that Remus I am eternally grateful. She made it through that war because she had a loving group of people surrounding her.”

Hermione let out a sob, tears streaming down her face. Remus grabbed the cup from her hand and set it on the table. Edward moved to the side of the chair and Remus did the same.

In a very low voice, Hermione said, “I want you both to know how much I love you. Harry reminded me that one of the things he loves the most about me is how fiercely I love people. I get to choose what I get to do and you two do too. I am a part of you” She pointed to Edward's heart. “And I am a part of you.” She pointed to Remus' heart. “Allison made choices that impacted all of our lives. See I got to be raised by my mum and daddy and got to meet my dad at Hogwarts. I think we can be together as one big family because I have my daddy.” She looked at Edward and then looked at Remus and said, “and my dad and I would not have it any other way. I love you both.”

“She gets that eloquence from Jean,” Edward said with a smile.

“Glad for that because I am no good at wording things and Ally was even more blunt than me.”

Edward saw the look of indecision on her face of who to hug first. Edward whispered, “Hug him, lovely, he needs it.”

Hermione got up from the chair and into Remus' arms, tears were flowing down both of their faces. “I love you so much, Hermione,” Remus managed to get out between the tears.

Edward rubbed her back as she sobbed in her dad’s arms. He thought that was an elegant way to distinguish between the two of them - he would always be Hermione’s daddy.

Remus whispered in her ear and she grinned at Edward and moved into his embrace.

“I love you, baby girl,” Edward whispered in her ear.

Remus sat back on the couch, completely spent from the emotional journey they had just traversed.

“Nee Nee, look at my dragon, it's blowing fire everywhere.” Teddy jumped up from the rug and spun around.

Edward sat back down on the couch as Hermione turned to Teddy, “I love it, Teddy--”

“Nee Nee, why are you crying?” Teddy ran over to the three of them, concern written all over his face.

He stopped when he saw the tear strewn faces of Edward and Remus. He looked around at the adults confused at what had happened.

Tonks walked over to him and bent down beside him, “Teddy, your daddy, and Edward talked about the fact that they are both Nee Nee’s dad.”

Teddy nodded, still looking concerned at the three of them. “Why are they crying, mummy? It's not sad."

Hermione ruffled his hair and patted her lap. 

Teddy carefully climbed on her lap and he looked into her eyes and she said, “This was the first time they met as our dad and my daddy, little man, and there was a lot of--"

"It was the jitterbugs wasn't it, Nee Nee?" Teddy asked with a very serious face.

Hermione grinned at him, "Yes brother, it was those darn jitterbugs. You know what Teddy, crying is one of the best ways to get rid of them."

"And daddy snuggles too."

"That's right, brother. And now I have two dads to get hugs from. I am a pretty lucky girl."

"And the bestest little brother who gives hugs too." Teddy wrapped his arms around her neck and whispered, “your mummy is just as amazing as you are.” 

"Yes, she is."

Teddy settled back down on her lap and looked between Edward and Remus. “Daddy, Poppa, are your jitterbugs all gone?”

Edward nodded at the boy. “Yes, little man, they are.”

Remus nodded at him. Teddy clapped his hands together. "So, now that we are all okay. Can we please eat some dinner now? I am super hungry.” 

Teddy hopped from the chair and kissed Edward’s cheek and then his father’s.

Winky popped into the room and looked at the table. “I can bring dinner when you are ready.”

Harry nodded, “Thanks Winky, we will finish the apps first. Can't waste Jaci’s masterpiece canapes.”

“Thanks, Winky, you guys always make the bestest food.” Teddy smiled endearingly at the house elf.

He grabbed a carrot from the middle of the tray and popped it in his mouth.

Everyone joined him around the table and Jean took that time to share cute and highly embarrassing stories about Hermione as a kid. Remus and Tonks took turns telling stories from Teddy. Remus even shared childhood stories about Harry too. 

Harry sat on the floor beside Teddy and next to Hermione. He looked up at her throughout the entire dinner. A smile graced her beautiful face all evening.

Toward the end of dinner, Teddy got tired of the adult conversations and read the dragon books. He quickly fell asleep from all of the excitement of the evening. The adults continued talking late into the night.

Tonks pointed everyone’s attention to the passed out boy. “Harry, I think we will be spending the night.”

“Always happens, Tonks. That’s why you all have rooms.” Harry turned to Edward and Jean, “I designed a room for the two of you too, Hermione, and I can show it to you. Thankfully with magical transport, it's easy to get home but--”

“Harry wants to make sure everyone has a place to call their own. The manor is not just our home, it is yours too.” Hermione got up from the chair.

“Our home?” Edward asked, looking between the couple. 

He looked at Remus to gauge his reaction. Remus looked a bit taken aback by that comment too.

Hermione stood up from the chair and put her hands on her hips. “Yes, our home, father. Potter Manor is my permanent residence.” She sighed seeing the same look on Remus and Edward’s faces. “And if you have something to say about it, you can complain to each other.”

Tonks and Jean both laughed at the guilty looks both of the men had. Hermione turned to Harry and asked, “Shall we put the boy to bed.”

Harry nodded quickly, wanting to get out of that conversation. They walked over to the sleeping boy and Hermione grabbed the book that he was clutching to his chest. This woke Teddy up who sat up looking confused. 

Harry squatted down in front of him. “It's time for sleep, little man.”

“I get to spend the night Harry?” Teddy asked as Harry picked him up.

“Yep.”

Teddy smiled.“Good, I didn't want the night to end but--” he yawned, “I am tired. Mimsey and Poppa will you sleepover too?”

Jean laughed and nodded. “Yes we will and I can even read you a bedtime story.”

Teddy nodded sleepily. “Yes, please.”

Jean stood up from the couch and kissed Edward on the cheek. " \Come on, Poppa. Let's get this little man to bed." 

He stood up with a huge grin on his face. Harry kissed Teddy’s cheek and handed him to Edward.

Hermione opened the door to the library for her parents. “I will show them his room and then theirs. I have to know what happens to the dragon in the book we started."

Harry smiled at the excited look on her face. Bedtime stories were her favorite.

"Yea, Nee Nee, can make the dragon move on the pages." Teddy smiled at his parents. "I love you."

Remus grinned, "We love you too."

Harry joined Remus on the couch and grabbed his drink. He took a sip and let out a huge sigh.

"Guess I will have to talk to and get advice from Sirius about Hermione cause it seems weird to talk to you about it now."

Remus went to shake his head but stopped.

"Yea, Moony, here may bite your head off. Or Remus will get weird when discussing things with his daughter’s boyfriend." Tonks laughed.

"Yea, that is probably for the best. I don't want this to change our relationship. And I know how much you love her given all we have talked about."

Harry nodded and Remus shot him a serious look. "Same threat still goes that I told you before I found out all that has happened. Except now I have Ed to help bury your body if you hurt my daughter."


	25. Chapter 25 -  Flourish and Blotts and a Surpise!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays to everyone! There is a surprise few pages added to the end (warning they are not betaed cause I wanted to get them out to you for Christmas :)!

Chapter 25

Hermione was pacing back and forth in the living room. She was impatiently waiting for her boyfriend to finish getting ready so they could go have lunch at Flourish and Blotts. They still had to stop by the sandwich shop and grab lunch and then make their way to the shop. She looked at her watch. They now only had thirty minutes to get there.

“Stop worrying,” Harry said from the staircase landing. “We will get there a little bit early to soothe your type A personality.”

Hermione placed her hands on her hips and tried to glare at him but failed miserably when he smiled at her. 

“I don't want to be late. I want to show them--” Anxiety was written all over her face.

“Love, today is not supposed to be all business. This is supposed to be a fun lunch and if you can't calm down I may lock you in the bedroom for the rest of the afternoon and reschedule this lunch.”

She let out a huge sigh. “I am sorry Harry, I am just really excited to meet them, and just like our little brother, I can't hold my excitement in for one moment longer. The thought that I could work there has been making my stomach twist and turn. And another part of me is scared because I really want this so much and I would be devastated--.”

“Love, please breath and come over here.” Harry walked over to the hutch where their letters were placed by the elves. “I was going to wait and let Mauve and Pops tell you themselves. But you need to see this.” He handed her the letter and four additional pages of documents.

Harry put his arm around her and pointed to the parts of the letter. “See I mentioned the idea of you joining them at the shop. You can see here the very positive response from Mauve and Pops.”

Hermione’s eyes darted over the response from Mauve and her hopes were getting higher and higher the more she read.

“Hermione, they want to invite you to become a third partner in the shop. She knows about all of the work you have done with the Codex and they want your help to bring F&B into the modern world.” He pointed to the legal documents behind the response. 

Hermione could not believe what she had heard. She read over the letter again.

Harry grabbed the letter from her hands and kissed her forehead. “I didn't want to ruin the surprise and wanted Mauve to tell you. But you have worked yourself into a frantic mess. I don't want you to be worried about it.”

“Harry, they haven't met me in an official ‘I want to be your employee capacity’. How can they just offer this?”

“Hermione, they met you every time you walked into that shop. I think you know from the Codex that you get to know your customers, especially the ones that come back year after year. And especially those that are fellow bookwyrms.” He tucked the hair back behind her ear.

“See, Hermione? Both of them told me stories of little Hermione Granger walking into the shop for the first time and every year that you came back for books. They even told me about that time when you snuck out of the house and took the bus to Diagon Alley. You cried on Mauve’s shoulder when you realized you forgot your money at home. She sent you home with a full belly of ice cream, three books, and money for the bus ticket back. They watched you grow up all those times that you came into the shop. I have regaled them on our crazy time at Hogwarts and what has happened since.”

Hermione tried to stop him but Harry placed his finger over her mouth. “Let me finish please.” She nodded. “And your boyfriend has told them everything about your character and who you are on the inside. Hermione Jean, I have known you for so many years and they are my adopted grandparents. I have confided in them things that I have not told anyone else but you. Mauve is the one who was pressuring me to reach out to you. Even if you had not come back because of the Harwood Lupin questions, I was going to reach out. They know who you are, Hermione.”

Hermione’s bottom lip was trembling. 

“And you are a force of nature in the book world. You know that your industry is a pretty small one. The work you did on the Hidden Codex is known by the magical book community worldwide. Quite frankly, the Codex is the model of how all bookshops should run to keep up in the modern world. Mauve told me that she was waiting for the perfect person to help her and always dreamed that it would be you. So you can bet that she jumped at that chance when I wrote to her. If it is all too much you--”

“It's not too much, Harry. I just don’t want to be handed anything--”

“Dear, you are Hermione Freaken Granger, you never have to be handed anything because you have worked your ass off to earn everything that you have. Love, you are a force to be reckoned with. Plus, it’s a very astute business decision if I do say so myself because if you started a competing shop then Flourish and Blotts could lose so much business.”

Hermione nodded and looked bashfully at him. “Let's grab our lunch and have a fun afternoon.”

Harry smiled at her and nodded, “I just need to grab some flowers from the garden. Mauve likes irises and daisies.”

Winky popped into the foyer with a bouquet of flowers and handed them to Hermione and a four-pack of beer to Harry. “Please send them our love.”

She popped out of the room. Hermione looked at Harry.

“Oh, the elves and Flourish and Blotts go way back. Every chance that they can spoil the couple, they do. The history of the shop is expansive and amazing. Mauve has this book that every owner of the shop has written their history in. I am sure that will be mandatory reading for you.”

“Oh, Harry you sure know how to talk dirty to me.”

“You are such a sexy bookwyrm.” He laughed as she grabbed his bum.

Harry apparated to Diagon Alley and they walked down the road towards the sandwich shop. Kracklinjoint was one of the newest shops to open in the alley just a few months before. It was an offshoot of the popular deli in Newcastle and was started by a husband pair. They could not get enough of the sandwiches and wanted to bring the experience to witches and wizards. It was a very popular shop, given the line outside.

Harry had called in the order so they made their way past the line waiting to order. Harry introduced everyone he could to the new shop as he loved the sandwiches filled to the brim with roasted meats like porchetta and salt beef. The sandwiches were unique and full of flavor. 

Harry walked up to the pickup window and let them know he was there for pick up. Hermione joined him watching the kitchen staff work to prepare and gather their order. She took in all of the wonderful smells emanating from the open-air kitchen with a smile on her face.

Hermione counted six sandwiches going into the bag. She looked back at Harry with a questioningly look, “Love, why are we getting six?”

“Oh you know, our mum’s need lunch too.”

“Our mums are going to be there?”

“Mauve asked if Molly would not mind watching the shop while we have lunch. Your mum volunteered to help since she loves Flourish and Blotts as much as you.”

Her smile lit the shop and Harry was glad to have surprised her.

“Mister Potter, here’s your order.” The employee behind the counter pushed a large bag across the counter. “Can't get enough of that Kracklin can you?”

“I really can't get enough. This is the best sandwich I have had in years. You put extra girkins in there?”

“Oh, you know I did. Mauve would have my head if I didn't.” She laughed. “Have a great day you two.”

They walked out of the shop and down the street towards the famed bookshop. Hermione stopped dead in her tracks as she took in the view of her beloved shop. Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes as she took in the green and black outside of the shop. Her eyes went to the logo and the shop's fancy sign. She took in a deep, steadying breath.

“Are you ready?”

Hermione nodded. “Just so you know I start crying, they are happy tears.”

“I know, honey.” Harry opened the door.

Hermione walked in and was overwhelmed by the familiar scents of Flourish and Blotts - parchment, ink, lavender, and the glorious smells of new and old books. 

They were greeted by a very loud boisterous welcome from Mauve. “Harry and our woman of the hour, Hermione, dear.” She moved quickly over to the couple.

Mauve’s hug made Hermione feel at home and safe and loved. She remembered all the interactions she had with her over the years. Hermione could not fight the tears that had been on the brink of falling. Hermione hugged Mauve back as fiercely as she hugged her.

“Oh, dearie, I am so glad you are here,” Mauve whispered at Hermione. “Harry, It's nice to see you, sonny. Pops is setting up the room upstairs for us, if you want to join him.”

Harry smiled and rubbed Hermione’s back. “I’ll drop sammies off with the mums first and join him.”

Hermione was trying to get her emotions under control. Mauve led her to one of the reading nooks and handed her a cold towel. She gladly took the towel and wiped her face.

“I am so honored to be here Mauve and your offer is amazing.”

Mauve let out a hearty laugh. “Dearie, our offer is there for you whenever you want to join us. Flourish and Blotts needs to move into the future and you are the perfect steward of that future.”

Hermione’s stomach interrupted their conversation when it grumbled loudly. Both women laughed. 

“Well, I guess your stomach is as ravenous as mine. Shall we join the men upstairs?” Mauve asked.

Hermione and Mauve walked past the counter where Jean was sitting beside Molly manning the registers. Jean took a huge bite of her sandwich and her eyes rolled back at the salted beef goodness. She waved at Hermione and pointed to the sandwich as she chewed.

“Girl, you best go find that man of yours before he eats your sandwich. I saw him eyeing it up when he gave us ours.”

Hermione laughed. “He would not--”

“I mean he might. It is a Kracklin sammy.” Mauve laughed when Hermione huffed.

She gave her mother and Molly quick hugs and made her way towards the reading room. Mauve followed closely behind grabbing some books on the way.

“Dearie, they are up the stairs, you go. I need to grab the history book for you.” 

“Harry told me about that book, I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I have always wondered about the history of the shop.”

Mauve laughed and walked into what Hermione assumed was the office. Hermione started towards the reading room but was promptly distracted by a young customer.

A little girl was standing in front of a bookshelf. She had one hand on the ladder and kept looking up at the top shelf. She hesitated and looked around the room, Hermione assumed trying to find her parent to help. The girl balled her hands in frustration.

“Hi young miss,” Hermione walked over to the girl with a smile on her face. “Can I help you grab something?”

“Yes, please, I need help. I don't like climbing ladders and the book I want is so high. I don't want to fall.” She looked almost to the point of tears.

Hermione smiled reassuringly at the young girl. “Which book?” 

“I wanted to get the ‘Hogwarts, a History Definitive Edition’, please. It's the gold book with a silver lining.”

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket and the look of awe on the little girl's face made Hermione grin. “I know that book very well, let me just get that for you.”

She waved her wand and said proudly, “Wingardium Leviosa.” 

She moved the book from the self and into the girl’s waiting arms. 

“That book is one of my favorites.” Hermione grinned.

The girl beamed at Hermione. “I just found out three weeks ago that I am going to be a witch. I get to go to elementary school here in the Alley for a few years and then I get to go to Hogwarts. I have to learn everything I can.” 

She was bouncing from side to side and held the book with such reverence. It made Hermione’s heart feel so full.

Hermione crouched down beside the girl. “I think you are going to do smashing. Do you need help finding anything else?”

“I want so many more books but my mummy says that I could only get one book.” She looked wistfully around the room at all of the books. “We have to stick to our budget so we can buy all my school supplies.”

“Let’s go find your mummy and you can get your book, okay?” 

The little girl led her to the front room of the shop.

“Mummy, I found my book.” She skipped over to her mother who was standing in front of a shelf of books that Hermione had not seen before. 

Hermione’s eyes quickly scanned over them and understood that it held textbooks, guides, and other items that would be used at the elementary school.

The woman turned around with a frazzled look on her face. “That is great, Daisy.” Her eyes flickered to Hermione.

Hermione smiled. “Hi, I work here and helped your daughter here get her book.”

“Thank you. I am sorry I wasn't there to help. I am trying to figure out everything that I will need to buy for her schooling. It's a bit overwhelming.” She sighed. “Apologies. I am Annie. Thank you for helping my daughter.”

“Not a problem. That is my job, Annie. Also, I wanted to buy her some books that I found helpful when I came into the wizarding world. See, I too came from the muggle world and I want to make sure Miss Daisy here has a proper leg up. If you wouldn't mind.”

Annie nodded and held her hand out. "You are very sweet, Miss?"

Hermione shook her hand. “Hermione Granger.”

“I would welcome any guidance that you have and extra books would be amazing. I will admit, I am a bit overwhelmed. It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks since her accidental magic episode.”

Hermione smiled and grabbed a pamphlet from the top of the bookcase. “First, go to this info session that the school is having. Ginny Weasley is a very dear friend of mine and she is going to help you through this whole process. We want to make sure that you and Daisy both feel comfortable in this new world.”

The woman took the pamphlet and smiled. “Thank you so much, Hermione.”

Hermione nodded, “If you will give me a minute, I will grab those books and I will meet you by the register.”

Annie nodded in thanks. 

Hermione grinned. “And Annie you can come find me or Mauve or Pops anytime to talk or ask questions, it is our job to help.”

Hermione skipped back to the kid’s room and started grabbing an assortment of books from Latin to magical history to basic books from every subject. She also grabbed some more kid-centric books that she knew Teddy had read.

Hermione made her way back into the room and heard Daisy tell her mother loudly, “Mummy that is Hermione Granger. She saved the Wizarding world. I read about her and this guy named Harry Potter and Ron Weasly and what they did just a couple of years ago.”

Hermione set the stack of books on the table near Daisy. “That's right, I did. And you know what Daisy, I started out just like you,” she said each word with emphasis. “A curious girl wanting to read and know everything about my new world.” 

She winked at her and Daisy’s smile lit up the room.

“Are all those books for me?”

“Yes, they are. Now come on to the check out and we will get you taken care of.” Hermione floated the books towards the register.

Hermione’s mother noted the books on the register and Annie went to pull out money for the book. 

Hermione politely said, “Annie, it is my honor to buy all these books for her, especially her first copy of Hogwarts a History. Boundless curiosity should always be rewarded. My mum did that with me and I went far.”

“I cannot thank you enough, Hermione. Daisy--”

Daisy took the large bag from Jean and held the books tightly to her chest. “Thank you so very very very much, Miss Granger. I promise I will read every word in these books.”

Hermione laughed. “Make sure you get outside too, gotta have some sun to get in good reading. And Daisy, if you have questions and your mummy or teachers don't know the answer, come find me, I bet I can find it or know someone even smarter who can find that answer.”

Annie and Daisy walked out of the store, both holding their heads high.

Jean smiled at her daughter. “You are going to go broke buying books for every kid that walks in this store.”

She grinned at her mum. “Mum, you have seen the library that I have access to. I now own every book ever created in perpetuity. So, what else am I going to spend my money on.” 

Jean and Molly both laughed and she quickly added, “Plus I have a rich sugar daddy that can support my book-giving obsession too.”

She turned around and found Pops and Mauve staring at her. It looked like they had followed her entire interaction with the young family. She looked nervously at Harry who walked up behind them.

“She is absolutely perfect. She has been in this shop for less than ten minutes and has already changed that little girl’s life.” Mauve spun around and smiled at Harry. “Sir, you better be planning to put a ring on that finger. If you don't, I will divorce Pops and marry her myself.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Hermione and Harry met Remus and Sirius in Diagon Alley. They had offered to help them go through the Harwood vault and decide what should be kept and sold. Hermione wanted to put the money towards research to help Neville’s parents.

After the Wolfie slumber party, the family had flooed over to Grimmauld Place to tell Sirius all about her parentage. Sirius had been shocked by the news and ribbed his best friend all day. He kept reminding Remus that he always tutted about Sirius’ playboy tendencies when they were young. But it was Remus who had the mystery child.

Hermione shared the news with the Longbottom’s that day as well. Sirius suggested a game night and invited them over. Teddy met the Twins for the first time and had declared that he would be the best Uncle to the girls like Harry was to him. Hannah and Neville were elated at the news and happy that she had an answer and that that answer was Remus.

“Neville said that he went through the lists of the vault contents, he recommended some things for me to keep and circled items that he would like. I am glad you guys can help us figure out the rest of it because there is a lot in the family vault.”

Remus smiled, “Glad to help, these family vaults have so much stuff in them.”

“Also, Arrilyn found another vault that Allison left to me. Apparently it became accessible after I accepted or denied the inheritance. The contents of that vault have not been recorded since it was protected with a blood ward, so I will have to open it first. I think we should go to that vault first.” Hermione sighed.

“Oh Allison, such a planner.” Remus shook his head.

“Yea, I have had this feeling that she would have left something at least a letter. From all her preparation hiding the journals and the journey she had me on.” She looked at Remus, “but I feel like there is a final piece that is missing. Hopefully, this vault will have something.”

Remus smiled at her, “I have a feeling we will find something.”

Hermione stopped in front of the coffee shop in Diagon Alley and grinned at them. They could all read what was on her mind.

Harry grabbed the door and waved her in, “Can't keep this lady from her caffeine, plus we have some time to kill before ten.”

“Very smart man.” Sirius laughed.

Remus and Hermione stood near the counter looking at the menu, discussing the different coffees. Sirius shook his head at the duo and walked over towards a four-top table. 

“These two and their coffee, I don't care what roast or bean it is. I just want a splash of bean juice with my sugar and milk.”

“Coffee is coffee to me. She and the elves had this whole long conversation about it yesterday. I was lost--”

“I just nod and smile.”

Harry grinned, “It all ends in delicious coffee for me. She had good tastes.”

“Kona Hawaiian coffee, I am so excited.” Hermione sat down and passed them plates with pastries, “I have never had this coffee but have heard such great things about it.”

“Did you order mine with--” Sirius started.

“Extra sugar, yea yea brother I know your order.” Hermione grinned.

Remus floated the four cups of coffee to the table. He sat down and they enjoyed their breakfast. At nine fifty-five they made their way to Gringotts and met Arrilyn near the lifts.

“Good morning, Miss Granger.” Arrilyn looked curiously at the men, “Will Mister Black, Potter, and Lupin be joining us?”

Hermione nodded, “Yes Arrilyn they will.”

“Did you want to start in the family vault or singular vault?” Arrilyn asked.

“Let’s start at the single vault please.”

Arrilyn motioned for them to follow her to the minecarts. Hermione climbed and closed her eyes. She hated how out of control the carts felt and gripped Harry’s leg as they took off.

Harry whispered in her ear, “Was much more fun riding that dragon out than these damn carts.”

Hermione snorted and tried to hide her smile as the cart came to a stop. The other three got out of the cart.

“Come on love birds.” Sirius jested. 

Arrilyn moved to the vault door while Sirius helped Hermione and Harry out of the cart. Arrilyn snapped her fingers and the cart moved to the side so others could pass.

“Alright Miss, please place your hand on the plate.” She followed Arrilyn’s instructions. Her hand was pricked and the door to the vault opened. 

“I will have a key made so that you can access it without using the blood ward. I will wait for you to finish and we can go to the family vault.”

A small desk and chair appeared in the entrance and the goblin sat down and started working.

Hermione entered the vault and the guys were close behind. The vault was empty except for a covered object in the center. In front of what Hermione thought was a portrait were two couches and a table with a letter. Hermione grabbed the letter and sat down on the couch, seeing Allison’s handwriting.

My Dearest Hermione,

If you are reading this letter then, unfortunately, I was not able to avoid the death eaters. I am afraid so many more people are going to die before this war is over. Please know this Hermione, I love you with all of my heart and I did everything I could to return to you.

I hope that this evil vile man has been taken down and that you are living in a safe world. I hope with all of my heart that you had an amazing childhood and you grew into the strong and courageous woman I know you will be. Jean and Edward are the best people that I have ever met and I know that they will love you like I wanted to, my sweet girl.

At this point, you may have read my journals, Alice and I wrote them our whole lives. I hope these journals will bring you closer to me and help you to understand the choices I made. The journals are at the Longbottom, Harwood, and Ravenclaw libraries. If you haven't read them, please do that.

Also, I hope I was wrong assuming that Remus Lupin was bad. I feel very guilty that never told him about you. He is your biological father. If you don't know who that is, please ask the Order of the Phoenix. If he was good, please give him my journals and get to know him. I hope he is the man I wanted him to be.

However, I didn’t just want to leave my thoughts to you in a letter or those journals. I had a portrait made so we could meet.

I cannot wait to meet you, whenever you are ready Hermione.

Ally, your mom

Hermione handed the letter to Remus with a smile, “You were right.

Remus sat down beside Hermione and stared at the cloth covering the portrait, “I knew she would leave a link.”

Harry stood behind Hermione and rubbed her shoulders. He knew how she was feeling right now, he felt the same way when he found his parents portraits in the family vault. Given the loss of life, most of the members of the Order did this. He had been so nervous to “meet” his parents. Remus and Sirius had been by his side and he was glad they and he could be here for Hermione too. Harry spent a lot of time getting to know his parents and now they were a permanent fixture in the manor.

“Glad she was a few steps ahead of the dumb eaters.” Sirius added, “You want me to pull the cover off this portrait so you can meet her?”

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. With a flourish, Sirius removed the cover. They sat face to face with a sleeping Allison Harwood. Slowly her eyes opened and her hazel eyes met Hermione’s brown. A smile spread on both women’s faces.

A tear rolled down Allison’s cheek as she took in her daughter.

“You got my smile Hermione.” Allison let out a laugh. “Wow you look so much like Alice. Here in all my vainness, I had hoped you would take after me. Glad you took after my better half.”

“Hi Mom--” tears fell down Hermione’s eyes as she stared at her mother not knowing what to say.

“Very rarely is our Hermione speechless, Ally.” Remus smiled at the portrait, she looked at him questioningly, “I have always been on your side and yes he is dead.”

Allison let out a huge sigh, “Good and did you find out about the Horcruxes?”

Hermione nodded before Remus could respond, “your research was integral to the fight and yes we ended up finding all seven of them.” 

Hermione paused when she saw the look on Allison’s face as she mouthed seven.

“Damn, seven. You will have to tell me that story on another day, I take it its a long one.”

“And a strong drink cause it's crazy.” Sirius grinned, “Hey Ally.”

“Oh god, my daughter is in league with you... why am I not surprised Sirius.” she looked at Harry, “And James son too?”

Harry laughed, “don't worry Allison, we may be trouble makers but we never got caught, unlike the Marauders. Your girl here has a perfect -- well -- kind of perfect record.”

Hermione swatted at Harry, “it was you who made me break the rules--”

“Oh, yea it was all me Hermione. Even though it was you who chose to brew the polyjuice potion with stolen ingredients in the girl’s bathroom in second year.”

Hermione blushed and Allison laughed, “and I bet she was still the top of the class even when brewing illicit potions.”

“Of course, that’s the Brightest Witch of her age.” Remus grinned.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the title, “Yea yea you guys. Before we keep going, I need to bring a very important little elf here.”

Allison nodded enthusiastically, “My Talila.”

Hermione nodded, “She is amazing and is going to be so excited to see you.”

She stood up and poked her head outside the door, Arrilyn nodded, “did you need something, Miss Granger?”

“Can you please give my elf access to this vault and call her here?”

She nodded curtly and Talila appeared outside the vault. 

“Hey Talila, there is someone who wanted to say hi.” Hermione moved to the side and Talila’s eyes met Allison’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~

After hours of getting to know each other, Allison was finally the one to stop the talk. She stood up and put her hands on her hips, “I love you so much Hermione, and have loved getting to catch up with everyone. But you in the land of the living need to eat and I am sure you didn’t want to spend your whole day in a musty vault.” 

Hermione’s stomach let out a loud grumble, “I agree with your assessment. But before we go Mom, I wanted to ask if we could move your portrait somewhere more accessible and interesting than this vault.”

Harry offered, “We could invite her to the manor and she could have full run of all the portraits. I am sure my mum would love some company. We have all those portraits in the library with all the books.”

Allison’s eyes lit up and she let out a whoop, “I am in full agreement, please move me to Potter Manor. I had them put a few books in here but I have been dying to read some new content.”

Sirius let out a loud laugh, “book addict just like Hermione and Jean.”

Talila smiled, “I will take you to Potter Manor Mistress and we will find the perfect spot for you to hang.”

“Thanks, Talila, we appreciate it.” Harry smiled at the endearing elf who was dancing on her tiptoes with joy and happiness.

Talila carefully grabbed the portrait and with a huge grin on her face popped away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks so much to all my readers out there. I hope you had a good holiday season and one last chapter to be posted next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	26. Chapter 26 - Wedding Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hi and hello to all my readers out there. So here it is… the last day of 2020 and the last chapter of SVM. Thank you so much for joining me along this journey!!! I have been writing this fic off and on for the last two years… with inspiration from an old fic I wrote a decade ago. My goal for this year was to FINALLY finish this story and here I sit and it is even better than I could have imagined at the beginning of 2020. This could not have been done without the help of my awesome Alpha: Nova5621 (FFNet) /karasunova (AO3) and different beta’s that have helped with the story!!!! Thank you for everything!!!!
> 
> Huge shout out to the Harmony and Co facebook groups, both the main and writers locker. This was how I found my awesome Alpha and Betas and if you are looking for a group of fellow minded Harmony Fans, join it!!!
> 
> Don’t fear… there will be more one-shots in your future… with some ideas already written from old iterations of the fic and others have been swirling around the muse!!!!
> 
> Okay enough of an authors note, hope you have an amazing New Years and here is to 2021 being less crazy!!!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Chapter 26

Hermione sat back watching the chaos of Ginny’s wedding day unfold before her eyes. Ginny had asked Hermione to please be her taskmaster and problem solver for the day. She was the most organized and best suited for the job. Any issues that happened went to Hermione first and then if she could not solve it then she would go to Ginny. Hermione being the overachiever she was, created a timetable that she was following to make sure that everything pre-wedding was happening when and where it needed to. 

Hermione stood on the first floor of the house watching the activity buzz around her. She looked down at her list and was happy that most of the boxes were check marked.

“Hey you.” Harry said, strutting up to her and popped the collar on his suit. “All of the guys are getting dressed and we will go outside for pictures my dear. What do you think?”

Hermione took a step back to admire her boyfriend. The groomsmen wore notch lapel light gray suits with navy ties. Harry, as best man, had silver stitching added to his suit, and his tie was silver. Draco was in a gray tuxedo that was inlaid in with silver plaid stitching. His tie too was silver. The suit made his eyes pop and his mop of hair look even crazier. There was something very regal about his suit and it made him look even sexier.

Hermione looked up and down him once more, taking everything in slowly. “Looking good, Potter.” 

Harry grinned and he pulled her into his arms, “Fleur tamed your wild hair Love. It looks beautiful.”

Fleur had done her hair in an ornate braid that wrapped around her head and ended on her shoulder. She had placed live flowers and jewels throughout it.

“Its a bit over the top--” she smiled, “and I love it. Glad Fleur didn’t use magic on all of it, since it makes my hair even more crazy the next day.”

“I love your crazy hair. Don't know how we will get all those bobby pins out tonight but I look forward to the challenge.” Harry laughed.

He outed as he looked down at the robe hanging off her shoulders and pajamas from the night before still on. “No dress yet?”

“Not till right before.”

Harry sighed, “you get to ogle me but I don't get to do it with you. That seems--”

Hermione grabbed the collar of his suit and kissed him to get him to stop his complaining. Harry pulled her close to deepen the kiss.

“Hey Potter, if I don't get to see my fiance until the ceremony you don't get to make out with Granger,” Draco exclaimed as he walked into the hallway.

Hermione playfully pushed Harry away as she turned towards Draco. She kept her arm wrapped around Harry’s waist. “Well since it's on the pre-wedding list--” she held the list out, “-- then I had to check it off.”

She wandlessly checked two more items off: ‘groom/groomsmen dressed and photos’ and ‘kissed Harry in that sexy suit’.

Draco laughed, “Oh, Hermione, you are crazy and that is why we put you in charge.”

“Only two more items to do, then that much closer to the ceremony.” she set the list down on the table.

Draco let out a sigh of relief, “thank Merlin. I cannot wait to see my wife.”

“She feels the same way Draco.” Hermione gave Draco a hug and whispered in his ear, “she loved the locket and wanted me to thank you for her. I cannot wait to see that mosaic.”

Draco had sent over a gift and love note for Ginny that morning. Ginny had burst into tears when she read the note and saw the locket. The locket had their initials engraved on the outside and two pictures on the inside. The left side was her favorite picture of them watching the sunset in Venice looking out on the Adriatic Sea. The right side had a picture of a mosaic that Draco had commissioned for their house. The mosaic was of a robin and dragon in flight, their wings met in the middle and formed a heart. In the letter Draco explained that he had gathered materials from the dates and trips that they had taken. Like the feathers on the robin were made from sand from all of the beaches that they had visited that had been melted and formed into glass feathers. Each feather had the beach etched into it. There were trinkets, tickets, notes, jewels, and other things that made up the robin, dragon, and background, Ginny knew she would spend days trying to figure out where everything was from.

Draco smiled, “I am glad she loved it. Setting that bar high for all the other men in the family for gift giving.”

“Thats right.” Hermione laughed and grabbed her list.

“Guess its picture time for us now.” Draco nodded at the photographer who was waiting outside. The other groomsmen were already outside.

Hermione nodded, “yep. I have five more minutes of delegating and then I have to get dressed.”

Hermione opened the doors and Draco walked out. As Harry walked past her she quickly smacked his butt and closed the door so he couldn't counter. He sent her a grin that she knew all too well that he would get her back later. The thought of that made her weak at the knees. She turned away taking a deep breath focusing on her list.

Ginny and Draco’s wedding was taking place at the Malfoy residence on the French Riviera. It was the more modest of the Malfoy residences and was the only property that Draco kept when he liquidated the Malfoy properties. All of the other houses were either too big or too dark or just too much. He invested that money back into various foundations including the McGonagall Education Fund. This fund helped Ginny and Luna to get their school off the ground and was helping to improve the curriculum at Hogwarts. Draco felt it was a very fitting use for the money from the selling of the massive estates.

Draco visited this house many times as a kid and had the best memories with his mother here. Also, it was the only house that his father never set foot in. It had been his mother's wedding gift from her parents. 

When they were trying to find a private venue that was large enough for the event, he knew it had to be at the manor. The house was open and airy and you could see the river from every window. The house was set back on a cliff with an expansive garden that looked out on a river in front. Behind the house were terraces and an intimate garden set upon the top cliff that had expansive vistas of the beautiful landscape around. The ceremony took place in the garden on the cliff behind the house and the reception would be in the front garden. 

Hermione walked around and checked on the final preparations in both areas. The tables were ornately decorated with flower vases and candles in silver and gold. The flowers had been picked the week before from all of the family gardens and were unique to each table. Ginny told Hermione that she did not want the decor to distract from the amazing view of the river so she kept it elegant and simple. Hermione looked out at the tables and towards the view and knew that it would be absolutely magical at night.

She turned towards the cliff behind the house and saw the guests gathering on the top terrace. Minerva was standing near the front and waved at Hermione. Hermione grinned at her favorite professor and waved back. She turned back to the house as her wand timer went off.

“Time to get these ladies dressed and moving.” she said to herself as she headed back inside.

She quickly found Molly and tapped her on the shoulder, “Mum.” 

Molly’s smile shone brightly every time Hermione called her mum. “Yes, dearie?”

“Time for all the ladies to get dressed. Then we can do the bride getting dressed pictures. Do you know where my mum is?”

Jean came walking in with a glass of champagne in her hand, “right here.”

“Good,” she turned and pointed to the stairs, “now both of you upstairs--"

“M, she is so bossy.”

“You raised her Jeanie.” Molly laughed.

“I am an angel Molly Weasly, she must have inherited that from Ally or one of her fathers.” Jean rolled her eyes 

Hermione rolled her eyes as Jean locked arms with Molly.

“Okay M, you ready to get dressed and see your baby girl get in her wedding dress.” Jean asked.

“I am not ready at all Jeanie. But let’s go before I start crying more.” she turned to Hermione, “Lovely, thank you for all your help. It is going much smoother than I thought it would. When your day comes, I am sure Ginny will be just as grand of a taskmaster for you, as you have been for her.”

They did not wait for a response and headed up the stairs. That comment made Hermione stop in her tacks. Her heart started beating faster at the thought of her wedding. 

Hermione had to stop her heart from jumping out of her chest. All the feelings from this day were making her feel all warm and mushy inside. She had never thought about having a wedding. She always thought she would do the pragmatic thing and elope, as she and Harry and both said just a few weeks before. She always thought why make such a huge to do over one day. But being a part of the lead up to Ginny’s big day, she knew in her heart of hearts that they would have a huge shindig, and as much as she hated the attention - the wedding was about her, Harry, their family and friends coming together to celebrate. 

She headed up the stairs and walked past the changing room where Molly and Jean were chatting. She thought about her family and knew that she would not deprive them of a crazy wedding day.

“Hermione,” Ginny squealed from the bridal room when she walked in, “Everything ready?”

Hermione lifted the list in the air in front of her and ripped it up, “everything else is ready.”

Ginny jumped up and did a little dance. The bridal party was in various states of dress, most still chilling in the lounging robes that Ginny had bought for them as a thank you gift.

She floated the tray of snacks from the table across the room and put in the center of the giggling girls. “Last thing we all need to get dressed. But first, eat something.”

“Momma Hermione is taking care of all of us.” Hannah laughed, winking at her.

“Once this ceremony is over, I partying harder than all of you witches.” Hermione grabbed a bite-sized pocket pie that Hannah made. “Everyone who isn't dressed, go get dressed now.”

She turned on her heels and joined Ginny and Luna in the bride’s changing room. The top floor was split into two wings, each with a common room in the middle of five bedrooms. They took over the east side of the house so that they could watch the guests gathering and all of the preparations being done. Ginny’s dress and cape were hanging on the wall on hangers that had Ginerva Molly Malfoy engraved on the bases.

Ginny spun around the room, trying to get all of her wiggles and excitement out. Luna closed the door.

Hermione set a plate of treats down on the bed’ “Eat before we get you in your dress sister.”

“Thanks, mom,” Ginny said with a huge grin on her face. She sat down on the bed and Hermione and Luna joined her. She pushed some of the food towards them and ate some of the treats on the plate. 

“My day is here--” she looked out the window.

Hermione and Luna joined her eating some snacks and watched her wistfully reminisce. Ginny looked down at her ring and then to the locket around her neck. She smiled at them.

“Alright, ladies let’s get me married.”

The two girls quickly went to work helping Ginny get into her underdress. Luna connected the top clasp and Hermione zipped the dress up. Molly would help Ginny put the cape and family tiara on.

“Ready?” Luna asked.

“I am so ready for this, ladies.”

Hermione yelled at the door, “You all ready to see this rocking bride?”

A resounding yes came through the door. Hermione grabbed the cape and Luna opened the door. They made their way into the room to the gasps and smiles from her bridal party. Ginny walked towards her mother with a smile. She was ever grateful for the waterproof spell Fleur had put on her makeup as tears flowed down both women’s cheeks.

Molly hugged her daughter for as long as she wanted and needed to. They were whispering things back and forth to each other. It was a very precious moment between the mum and daughter. 

Molly finally let her daughter go and exclaimed, “look at us blubbering all about. Your groom is waiting outside. Now, let me look you over, my love.”

She then tutted around checking her hair, earrings, necklace, and ending with her hands holding Ginny’s chin. She wiped the tears and stared lovingly at her daughter.

“Mum, I love you so much.”

“I love you so much baby girl. Look at you all grown up and getting married.” Molly let out a laugh trying to calm herself, “Now let’s get this cape on you.” Molly winked and wiped the final tears from her cheeks.

Molly took the cape from Hermione and with a flourish, she wrapped it around Ginny. She clasped it to the ornately decorated W in the middle just below her collar. Jean handed Molly the tiara that she had been holding. Molly put the tiara into Ginny’s hair, she recited a spell to make it stick and not move.

Ginny smiled at her mother and Molly kissed her cheeks. “Hermione and Luna, you two get dressed. I will finish helping my girl.”

Hermione patted Molly’s back and turned to her mum, tears falling down her face too.Hermione hugged Jean, overcome with so many emotions.

“I love you so much, daughter.”

“I love you, mum.”

“I love our family, Hermione Jean. One big crazy happy family. I am sure that I will get to do this with you one day, right?”

Hermione and her mum had had conversations about weddings throughout the years. Hermione always made her thoughts about weddings clear to her mum. Jean had hoped that she would change her mind sometime.

“Mum, you all will get to be a part of a crazy day just like this. Don't you worry.” Hermione said as she hugged her mother.

Jean let out a gasp and grinned, “Good. Now you go get dressed.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione stared at the path that led into the garden taking in the scene. The hedges that surrounded the garden were decorated with hanging silver and gold baubles. The entrance to the garden was an ancient wooden archway that had been carved and made from the trees that had been removed to build the house. The archway was exploding with wildflowers twisting through the branches from the Longbottom garden.

Hermione looked down at her bouquet and was really shocked at the thought and care that they put into each part of their wedding. Each of the girls had a different bouquet of flowers, their favorite and ones that had meaning between her and the couple. Hermione could see white carnations, rain flowers, bamboo leaves, daisies, dandelions, Peruvian lily, and others that she could not name. She knew that she would spend a few hours buried in the Longbottom library looking up all of the meanings of the flowers. In the middle of each of the bouquet was a single daffodil to represent Draco’s mum.

Hermione was last to walk down the aisle before Luna and then Ginny. She could not hold in her excitement and did a wiggle dance to get her nerves out, her dress flowing around her. She turned around and winked at Luna and Ginny. 

“Love you, Ginny.”

“Love you, Hermione.”

“Love you, Luna”

And with that, the music started for Hermione to walk down the aisle, grateful for the comfort charms on her heels.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry had his hand on Draco’s shoulder, trying to calm his impatient friend. Draco had complained that they had been waiting for so long. Harry reassured him that time was relative at this moment and that things would get moving.

A minute later, the music started and Teddy walked down the aisle. Teddy held his head high and in front of him was the pillow with the rings on it. Draco and Ginny would not part with their rings, even for a few hours, so goblins had come up with an elegant solution. The rings Teddy was carrying were made from pure goblin magic and held gems that would be inlaid into the constellations on their rings. When the ring was placed on their finger, it would trigger a spell that would meld it into their ring and affix the gems to the ring. 

Teddy walked next to Harry. He would stay there until his job was complete and then go sit with his parents. Teddy looked up at Harry with a smile, “I did it.”

“You did great Teds.” Draco grinned at the little boy.

The bridesmaids started down the aisle. His heart felt so happy seeing everyone come together for his friend's day. Harry could only imagine standing in Draco’s shoes with Ron, Draco, and Teddy by his side. As the day went on, Harry hoped that Hermione would want to have a big shindig to celebrate their love. He wanted to have a day filled with love, family, and friends that was all about him and Hermione building a future together. As Harry mused, most of the girls walked down the aisle and stood in their places. His heart started beating faster knowing that Hermione was going to come down the aisle after Fleur, who stood beside Angelina.

Harry swore his heart just about stopped when Hermione walked down the aisle. His eyes went from her enchanting smile and those eyes that he could stare into for hours to that smashing dress. His eyes trailed down her body and he knew that today would be an exercise in restraint. His suit suddenly felt a lot tighter and a lot hotter. He was glad that she waited to show him her dress, he would not be able to keep his hands off her. It was just perfect.

His hand tightened on Draco’s shoulder.

Draco smiled at his friend. Harry could not find any words to say. Beautiful. Sexy. Magical. Nothing fit how he felt so he just stayed quiet smiling at her.

“Harry, Nee Nee is so pretty,” Teddy said loudly.

Harry grinned at his little brother. “Yes she is, Ted, yes she is.”

Hermione made it down the aisle and winked at Harry. She moved to her place beside Fleur and turned to watch Luna walk down the aisle. Luna’s dress was just as unique as she was. The dress bodice was made of lace and had sequins and beads sewn into it. The skirt of the dress was made from stips of cloth from all the other girls' dresses in the varying fabrics and hues of navy. It was the perfect combination bringing together all of the dresses of the bridal party into the maid of honors dress. As she moved, the dress flowed around her. Luna slowly skipped down the aisle smiling at everyone. She stood beside Hermione.

Everyone stood up when the bridal music started. Ginny and her father stood in the archway. Hermione had her eyes on Draco, wanting to watch his emotions as he saw her for the first time. Draco’s reactions did not disappoint. Tears fell down his face as he tried to take in the moment - of this ethereal woman walking down the aisle to him. 

Harry must have whispered in Draco's ear to breathe because a moment later he took a deep breath. Hermione looked between the couple as they got closer. She could see the love, devotion, and pure joy emanating from their faces. Her eyes flickered to Harry and he was looking at her with that same expression. Her breath caught in her chest and she smiled at him.

Draco stepped forward to Arthur's side.

Arthur kissed Ginny’s cheeks and gave Draco a hug.

Arthur started, “Draco, I can't welcome you to the family today because you have already been a part of it for many years. I guess today it is official, Son.” Arthur patted his shoulder as Draco’s eyes met his, “I am forever glad that Ginny found someone who loves her as fiercely as she loves.”

Arthur took his seat beside Molly. Draco moved to Ginny’s side and she took his outstretched arm. There was no giving away of this bride. Ginny told everyone that the old traditions could fly out the window. 

Together they walked up to Minerva, their officiant for the wedding. The waves were crashing on the cliff below and it was the perfect scene in Hermione’s opinion. She kept one eye on Harry and the other on the couple.

Minerva was dressed in an ornately decorated formal robes that Draco had custom designed for her with the Hogwarts crest emblazoned on the back. She was standing on the small stage looking at the couple with a soft smile.

“Good morning, everyone. I am honored to be here today to join these two in marriage. When they first asked me, I thought it was ironic considering that they listened to me lecture them for many years at school, why would they want me to do this? Mister Malfoy,” she put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed, “told me that I was the one person that stayed constant through his life and who was more perfect for this than his favorite professor. Draco Malfoy, you have grown into one of the most caring and kind-hearted men that I have ever had the honor to know. You think of others before yourself and are no longer that bouncing ferret boy from school.”

Ginny couldn't keep her laugh in. Draco shook his head at his wife to be. “Yea yea, you’re about to be Mrs. Ferret Boy.”

Ginny laughed. “I would proudly stand beside you as Mrs. Ferret.”

“Oh you two, interrupting your professor just like in the old days. Ginevra Molly Weasley, I have known you since you were born. Your mum could not hold in her excitement at finally having a little girl. Ginny is not only strong because she's the youngest of seven and has all brothers. She stands here the woman she is today strong, bright, and fierce because she faced and overcame adversity. She was courageous and fought for what she believed was right. She grew up to be a great person too. Don’t tell the other lions but you might just be my favorite, from the little girl I held in my arms the day you were born to the fierce woman standing in front of me. And now you have found the love of your life and I get to join you two together. It's my honor and joy.”

“Today we are here to join you two together for life in a bonding ceremony. Ginny and Draco have written their own vows and would like to share them with each other and all of you. Draco, please.”

Harry handed Draco a piece of paper from his suit pocket. Draco took in a deep breath and stared into her light brown eyes. “Ginny Weasley, I love you with all of my heart. Years ago, when we met at college, I didn’t know what love was and today I can proudly say that it’s you. You are my heart, you are my joy, you are my magic. I know that I am the luckiest person in the world because not only did you choose me, your family did too. Thank you for choosing me Ginevra and I promise that I will show you my love and devotion every day of our lives.”

Harry handed Draco a handkerchief and he used that to wipe the tears from Ginny’s cheeks, she mouthed ‘I love you’.

“Ginny, your turn,” Minerva said, dabbing her cheeks with her handkerchief.

“Draco--” Ginny paused to steady her voice, “you are the most infuriating, opinionated, and stubborn person I have met. And that is saying something considering I am a Weasley and we are all stupidly stubborn. When you sat beside me in that first class at Cambridge, I was so confused. You were such a ponce during school and an enigma during our seventh year. I could not understand why you sat beside me. I talked to Harry about it and he said that you were nervous and even with all of our past, that I was someone that you knew. I want to continue to be that person for you, Draco. When times are good, the person that you come to and celebrate and have a glass of firewhiskey with. When times are bad, I want you to come sit beside me and let me be your rock in the storm. You are my person and I am yours and together we are so much stronger. I am so glad that you sat beside me in that class.” Ginny smiled at Draco, tears still falling.

“I promise to always be your person, Ginny.” 

Draco reached for her right hand and she reached for his left and together they formed an infinity symbol. Minerva tied the silver and gold bonding cord around their wrists. 

All the witches and wizards in the crowd held up their wands and Minvera started the bonding spell. Colorful colorful sparks shot from everyone’s wands and surrounded the couple. Ginny and Draco only had eyes for each other as the magic swirled around them. The bonding cord disappeared and all the light focused on the couple. And then with a bright flash all was gone.

“It is now time to complete your constellations. For those of you that don’t know, Draco and Ginny have each had a promise ring that they have worn for the last three years. These rings symbolize the couple, a robin and a dragon in flight.”

Draco mouthed, 'my robin', making Ginny smile.

“They have carved into their rings a constellation from the night sky. Ginny has the Draco constellation on hers since that constellation is what her beloved is named after. While Draco has Ursa Minor on his. And for those of you who didn’t pay attention in astronomy class,” she looked at Ron who blushed. “Ursa Minor is protected by Draco, as Ginny is. But Ursa Minor also holds another special star, Polaris. Ginny is the light in Draco’s life that never sets just as Polaris never sets in the sky. Today they will complete their rings with gems inlaid into the constellation stars.”

Teddy stepped forward and carefully handed the rings to Minerva. “Here ya go, Auntie Minnie.”

Sirius let out a snort at his nephew's use of his nickname for Minerva. Beth smacked his shoulder and he quieted down.

Minerva sighed, “Thank you, Edward.”

Teddy hopped down and into his mother's waiting arms. Draco untied the rings from the pillow and handed his to Ginny and kept hers in his hand.

“I will always protect and fly by your side,” Draco said as he put the ring on her finger. With a flash, it inlaid the gems into the ring.

Ginny slowly slid the ring onto his finger. “I will always be your light and fly by your side.”

“And now for the first time, I am proud to introduce to you Draco Weasley Malfoy and Ginvera Molly Malfoy.”

Draco had suggested that they hyphen their name to Weasley-Malfoy but Ginny outright refused, she said she had enough brothers to carry on the Weasley name, but there was only one Malfoy. She also added that she was going to make it her goal to fix there only being only one in the future. Draco chose to honor new family by changing his middle name and get rid of his fathers. 

Everyone stood up and cheered for the couple. Minerva smiled. “Ginny, you may now kiss your husband.”

Hermione’s eyes did not leave Harry as the couple kissed and then made their way down the aisle. Hermione had been so caught up in the moment she felt like her heart would leap out of her chest. She did not notice when Ron stepped out of order of groomsmen and joined Luna to walk back down the aisle.

Harry walked over to Hermione and offered his arm. “Shall we?”

Hermione nodded and gratefully took his arm, letting him lead her down the aisle. Her eyes looked over the crowd at her family. She smiled at Molly and Arthur, who were wrapped in each other's arms overcome by the emotions of the ceremony. Jean’s eyes met Hermione’s and shone so much love through them. Edward winked at Hermione and put his hand over his heart. Hermione grinned at her daddy.

Her eyes floated to her dad, who was holding her little brother as he pumped his fist in the air cheering for the couple. Remus had the biggest smile on his face and nodded at her and Harry. Tonks leaned her head on Remus’ shoulder ruffling Teddy’s hair.

Her eyes continued to lock with each and every one of their family and friends. For the first time in her life, Hermione looked at Harry, who had been watching her the entire time. Her brown eyes met his green. By each other’s side they would be forever and always.


End file.
